It Happened - Menage a Trois
by SupaaFly
Summary: Meet Adelle who will unknowingly break all the rules, all the stereotypes and change everything. This is the story of the one that becomes the most precious thing for two brothers. Because of a sarcastic, funny human girl with kind heart, Damon and Stefan will heal and learn what really means to love somebody. It's nothing like what you've seen before! O.C. Menage story. Rating M.
1. Chapter 1

Intro

Adelle is the girl that will unknowingly break all the rules, all the stereotypes and change everything. This is the story of the one that becomes the most precious thing for two brothers. Because of one unique human girl, with a kind heart, two men will heal and learn what really means to love somebody.

Open your mind, read carefully, the world that I am about to show you is nothing like what you have seen before.

ATTENTION~! : Will contain a lot of _sarcasm_ and _inner-Damon-dickery_! Don't say you were not warned! ^w^

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Disclaimer

I do not own Vampire Diaries. The O.C. is my original character.

This story will follow the series to some extend, there will be a lot of changes and you will find a partial O.O.C. here.

It will be rated [ **M** ] for future chapters and yes it will be a **Menage love story/** **polygamous relationship** , if you don't like please don't read.

 **[!]** Comments. Follows. Any kind of support is highly appreciated. No kidding, it does give the motivations to update faster.

Big thanks to my Beta - _LapisLazuliRose_ for correcting this chapter!

I am still working on my other story – [ **Dose of Crazy** ] don't worry it's active and I will continue to put content there, but I just got this idea and the desire to make it happen. So here it is.

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Chapter 1

The first thought when I woke up and opened my eyes was that this was not my room. I revised my previous night and decided that I didn't do anything apart from staying at home. And let's face it I wasn't one of those party hard teens. If I got my way I would stay all day long in my bed surrounded by food and books. So you could say that I knew my bedroom pretty darn well.

I sat up and looked around, trying to not freak out, because there must be some kind of explanation for this. I had to admit, the room was big, it had an enormous wardrobe on my right with a mirror and on my left - french windows covering the entire wall. It had a beautiful view of a green backyard and the sun was blazing through it. In front of the bed exactly opposite of me was the other wall that was covered from top to bottom with photos. On it's right corner there stood a vintage beauty space full with jewellery and makeup. On the left there was obviously a very comfortable small couch, that as well, looked vintage. The bed itself was white just like all the furniture here. The more I looked the more I liked what I saw.

Slowly I stood up and walked as quietly as possible to the photo wall, the next thing I know I'm on the floor and my head is spinning. Was I dreaming or this was a very well thought out prank by my sister? That's not possible! On the numerous photos was I and what I knew from one of my favorite shows Elena Gilbert and every other main character in the Vampire Diaries series. On one I was laughing with the witch I adored, on other I was in my swimsuit with the Caroline Forbes. In the middle of Tyler and Matt. On some carnival with Jeremy. Birthdays, Halloween, Christmas, New Year, School, if I wasn't ready to throw up I would be jumping from excitement and taking them all. But of course I was freaking out.

A thought came over me. Was it possible that I was send here just like many characters were in the fan fictions I read about? Let me tell you, I was a hard core fan of this show, I loved it and whenever I wasn't watching the seasons all over again I would be reading the fan made stories about my favorite characters. It always made me giddy to see how a new person that was put in this universe could change the dynamic of the show. But I probably was dreaming. That was the best thing I came up with, because if it was real I wouldn't be able to decide what to do with all of this.

I searched for my phone and I found it on the night stand, when I unlocked it the background was a photo of me and Elena laughing giddily at the camera. I opened the album and there were more photos of us and everyone else. I didn't found any of my sister or my real friends. I saw my laptop too and went to it, surprise surprise my face book page was the first thing I searched. Adelle Gilbert. What? Wait...what? I looked again, refreshed the page twice but it didn't change, I stopped myself from doing it for the third time and looked at the date. A day before the first day back to school. My God, was I transferred just hours away from the pilot? But Gilbert? Really? Why not Bennett so I could be a kick ass witch or Forbes so my mom is the sheriff? Where was the justice in this? I was the little sister of the famous and perfect Elena Gilbert. I would be truly invisible or just victim in the grand scheme of protecting her. I looked some more, Jeremy was year younger than me, I was the middle child...cool. But from what I got I was so smart that I skipped class and was with Elena and the rest of the main characters.

Ok. Let's say that for a minute I will indulge in this madness and leave the freaking out for later. Let's say that I was somehow put in this alter dimension and I'm no longer Adelle Ivanova but Adelle Gilbert. Now what? My mind was full with awesome ideas all from the many fictions I had read and my selfish wants of what should have happened in the show. I could write a story myself...oh wait I had already done that. Something clicked in my head, as fast as I could without making mistakes I typed in . Nope. No such thing here. It looks like those people from this freaky dimension have no taste. But yet again that was good because if it really existed that would prevent me from getting out of this room. I'm serious, I can read for hours, only taking pause for toilet or food. Yes. It was the summer vacation. Sue me. I don't like the sun.

Clothes! I almost jumped from the realization. Standing up I went to the wardrobe, what I found pleased me immensely. I loved fitted jeans and loose tops, I adored hats and scarfs and jewellery and here there were a lot in the color range that I like the most. Dark. Gee, whoever send me here sure knew how to sugar coat the whole situation. That is if I didn't wake up any minute from my annoying alarm.

I wasn't big on diaries, okay let's not kid ourselves, I started so many times but got bored of it at the end of the week. And you guessed it, the doppelganger inspired me. So no surprise there, I didn't find anything like that. The good news is that I found my camera and all of its accessories. Thank you! I might suck at drawing, writhing, dancing...or really anything interesting, but I loved photography, so it made me smile that in this weird … thing... dream … hell if I know, I had Lucca with me. And yes it has a name, just like my phone - Sichelle, all names of small towns in Italy.

After looking around I decided that I had nothing to lose if I went out and saw the other part of the house. Creeping out, like I was a thief, I walked on my toes and saw the doors of Elena's and Jeremy's bedrooms. I had no idea where Jenna slept, because in the show this detail was skipped, so I guessed it was on the first floor somewhere. I was almost at the stair case when I heard "What are you doing?" At the voice of Jeremy Gilbert, I jumped around, magically succeeding in not tripping over and let out a yelp. The boy was wearing shaggy clothes and from the looks of it just woke up. My eyes went down and I saw I was in shorts and a tеe, no better than him. When my gaze came back to him he was waiting for me to say anything.

"I... ugh...breakfast?" wow...from where did that came from? My voice was the same but I didn't have an accent. I spoke like I was American. Let me clarify, I am from Bulgaria, yeah I know like Katherine, and yes I speak Bulgarian but because of my parents I know English, French and Spanish. So I was bound to have an accent no matter how good I was. Now, I had none and it scared me a little.

When I came to my senses Jeremy was no longer there, he had slammed the bathroom door, no doubt questioning my sanity. But sue me! I was speaking to a fictional character in a fictional town where supernatural creatures existed and I knew all about it!

Deciding that I had no time to freak out now and let's be honest I was expecting to wake up any moment, I decided to not waste my time and explore as much as possible, keeping the fangirling to a minimum. Ignoring the druggy brother, I went downstairs. Here is the living room. Oh okay. For God sake it was the same and I couldn't hold back my itching fingers from touching the sofa, ohh it's soft, bet it's comfy too. I sat down. Yep, it is.

Next was the kitchen. The island was full with fruits. Ohh, big refrigerator. Wow, how much do these people eat? From what I remember, Elena can't cook to save her life, Jenna wasn't good at it and Jeremy was never one to take on the task. All they had was take-out food. I opened the cabinets then and oh look, there was one full with tea, yep that must be mine. I was obsessed!

Was it strange? This was supposed to be my home but I knew nothing about it expect from what I saw in the show. It was like an adventure to find out what was behind this door, or that pantry and below the TV. In one word I was snooping around.

In the midst of reading some of the book titles on the shelves in the living room, Jenna walked in.

"Addie? What are you doing up so early in the morning?" my dreamy aunt asked and she looked almost afraid of doing so. Why?

"Oh...I was hungry." was my intelligent respond. She nodded and then smiled. Why is she so happy that I was looking for food? Oops. My dreamy parents died in the car crash. Okay, this little detail skipped my mind. And just like that I wanted to be more consistent in writhing a diary. I would be able to see what this dreamy Adelle self was like when she found herself without her mom and dad. Was I still grieving? Was I an outcast like Elena or a druggy like Jeremy? But no matter how hard I thought I couldn't come with an answer and let's face it, those were not my parents, I didn't feel any sadness, and this whole situation was so surreal that I wasn't able to make myself act devastated. No sir. I have no idea how long I will be here; I will make the most out of it.

"I was thinking of making something do you want to join me?" I proposed to my still standing there aunt and she once again nodded vigorously.

"I would love too."

That's how we went back in the kitchen and I took charge. Jenna was banished to sit on the island's chair while I prepared the breakfast.

"I think we have eggs in the fridge." she said.

"I'm vegan. That won't do." was my immediate respond. The silence I was met with made me look up from the fruit salads I was making. Jenna had a stunned look on her face. Oops. Was this Adelle not one? Oh the irony, this town is full with vampires and if I stayed here I was going to stand out like a sore thumb.

"Since when?"

"Ugh...for a while. Few months?" I lied and hoped that it wasn't as fake as it sounded in my head.

"I, see...it's just that you don't come out often from your room and when you aren't...there you are out with your camera...and... you know I haven't seen you eat with any of us for...uhm..since...God! I'm such a bad guardian!" exploded Jenna and she looked so distressed that I jumped from her outburst. At least she helped me understand what the situation was here. I closed myself off from anyone and did what I always do when I'm in a bad mood. I take photos.

"No, Jenna, that's not true. You lost your sister too, you have the right to grieve too!" I tried to console her. What a strange dream. Like really, how is it that I normally dream of traveling and here I am calming down my fictional aunt. "Look, nothing is your fault, you are amazing and you are trying your best, which is the most we could ever want. But everyone took it differently. I'm sorry that I neglected you all and closed myself. I should have told you about my change in diet."

"It's okay. It was just a shock, you know." she smiled a little and I let out a breath of relief. "You look different today, Addie." that snapped my attention back to her and hell I almost cut my finger.

"What?"

"You smile, and well...we eat together, and somehow you look less..." but she couldn't find her words so I decided to help her.

"I woke up and felt different. I... felt like it was time to get myself up from the floor and face the music."

"I like it. I like it a lot. You were the hardest to talk with. Elena was and still is acting like she is okay but she is spending a lot of time in the cemetery. Jeremy is..." she almost looked scared to say it.

"I know, Jenna. He is using." she nodded.

"But you, you just shut down and I was afraid of losing you completely. I was scared that you don't eat, look at yourself, you are so thin and all the time you were out, alone with your camera..." Jenna continued.

"Look, I know that I must have caused you a lot of problems, aunt Jenna, and I apologize, from now on I will do better, I want to do better, so please tell me when something like this bothers you in the future for any of us. We...are family." that was so strange to say, I didn't know this woman. "So let's make a deal, when I have a problem I will come to you and ask for advice, you will do the same. Let's get through this together? What do you say?" Tears started to run down her face and I panicked that I have said something wrong but when she came to me and hugged me knocking my breath out I knew I had done the right thing.

"Okay! Okay. I'm glad. Perfect!" she said between sobs and I let her compose herself while I finished our fruit salads. Then I made tea and we ate while discussing what my vegan diet consisted of.

"Is Elena or Jeremy going to come down soon?" I asked.

"No, normally they both would show up around noon. I just hope that tomorrow they won't be late for school. God I feel so unprepared!"

"How about this." I answered after considering her words. "I have some things to do today, but when I come home tonight I will help with dinner and the breakfast and presentation you have for tomorrow?" her eyes bulged out in shock.

"I totally forgot about this!" Jenna stood up and ran out of the door, only to come a moment later. "You okay with washing the dishes?" as I nodded she smiled. "Good, and I will take you up on this offer for sure!"

Just like that she was gone as well. The room became quiet and I let out a long breath. What a madness. This was way too real to be just a dream but I still felt so out of the world. I took out my phone and looked at all the massages I had. Caroline was the last that had written to me...

'You up for some shopping and beauty day? - Addie.' not even a second later.

 _'R u kidding! F yes!_ '

'How about you pick me up and we go to Whittemore for the day? - Addie.'

 _'Be there in ten!'_

That solved a lot of problems with the orientation. I washed the dishes, ran upstairs put some dark blue jeans and dark red long sleeve top that I decided was okay to be just as fitted and added a lot of rings on. I was out of the door with a bag in hand, double checking I had money. The reason I was doing that was actually because I really wanted to meet Caroline, she was amazing and my favorite out of the show. At first yes she was annoying but that was only because she was insecure about herself and Bonnie and Elena weren't the best of friends with her to help her get over that.

When the ditsy blond came I was bombarded with hugs and questions about the summer and where I had been, and how different I was all of a sudden. After getting over the initial shock of meeting her and the madness of it, I might have to get used to this, I told her what I told Jenna. She took the lie just as well. Maybe I wasn't such a bad liar. While she was telling me what she had done for the past few months I got more information about this dreamy me. For starters I wasn't a cheerleader. Thank God! I wasn't involved in anything really, that was more Elena's and Caroline's thing. With Blondy we were best friends and I could see why, she was easy to talk to, she was fun and full of energy. I loved those kind of people.

"Don't get me wrong Addie, because you know best that I would never say no to shopping and some facials but why all the way to Whittemore?"

"Why not, I want a change of scenery!" was my excuse and she accepted it without a doubt, continuing on gossiping about what Tyler did, how Matt is after his and Elena's breakup and Bonnie's 'mojo juju' stuff. Nothing I didn't know about. The real reason I wanted to get out of town was for other reasons though. First because my real parents never let me do it, I was planning on dyeing my hair white/silver. Yes, shocking but why not? I think it would look good on my fair skin and I was fed up with the dark brown, which was my natural hair. I wanted something new and crazy and this dream was the definition of it, why not add the cherry on top? My eyes were very light brown/blue and I had full lips. Maybe those were one of my favorite parts of my body but then I remembered how in this universe I was slimmer then my original self. Was that because I had been skipping so much meals? Well I was tall and had long legs that now looked even better. I would look like that if I wasn't so lazy in my real world. Oh well. The perks of dreaming. Or not.

Apart from the new hair style I wanted to go and look around a home decor store. I might be able to find a replacement for the moon stone. If I managed that I wouldn't be able to hold back the happy dance. And let's not forget that I wanted to stop by a bio herb store. I don't know why but in this show everyone is acting like vervain is such a rare thing, but half of my tea back home used to be made with it. That's how I planned on getting my hand on this poison for vampires.

Caroline got us to a big mall in the centre of the city and we spent a good two hours shopping for clothes. It was easy to spend someone's else money. Because back at my world everyone knew not to give me too much, I was crazy like that. Here was not a problem.

"Now where?" asked Care.

"I want to get some pillows for my bed." I lied and she jumped with excitement. What a shopaholic this girl was.

Easily I found the section with the decorative stuff and stones. I must have spent ten minutes or more looking through them, the clerks looked at me strangely but I paid them no mind, thank God Caroline wasn't anywhere near me or I would have to explain myself. I didn't find anything that looked remotely similar like the moon stone and was very discouraged by it. At least I tried. Non the less I got two pillows that I found cute and brought them. Our next stop was the herbal shop. Surprise surprise they had an indulgence of vervain. Some was mixed with other herbs and I got three types to make tea for me and Jenna each morning, Jeremy wasn't going to want it and if I remember correctly he didn't need it. Elena was getting hers from Stefan. Ah...Stefan...Concentrate, Addie! Then I got a bag which was only filled with vervain. At least that went well.

Our last stop was the beauty salon, while Caroline was getting facial I was seated in front of the mirror with a hair dresser behind me.

"What do you want, my sweet." asked the smiling woman.

"I want to dye my hair white." her grin couldn't get bigger.

"Wait! What?" shouted my blond companion from across the salon. "Are you serious?"

"Why not?" I countered back and after much thought she answer.

"You know what? You will look darn good in it! Go for it, Addie!" cheered Care and I laughed. And that's how after much work I exited the salon with white ash almost gray long till the small of my back curly hair. I loved it.

While on our way back Caroline couldn't stop from gushing how amazing my hair came out to be and I wanted to go all 'I told you so' to my mom and dad who didn't believe I would pull it off. While we were talking I was preparing two necklaces in which I put some of the vervain into them. Both were silver lockets, that were very delicate and small. No one could tell that they can be opened and that was a big advantage for who wore it. Let's be honest here, the necklace that Elena will have is so eye catching and kitsch that everyone with any knowledge on the matter would know that there is vervain in it. When I was done, Caroline was just pulling in front of the Gilbert's house.

"Care I want to give you this, as a thank you for today and as a sorry for being such an awful friend for the past months." I told the blond and she teared up. What was going on with everyone in this town, was I such a cold person that the moment I did something kind they would all go crying?

"It's so beautiful, Addie! Oh my God! I won't ever not wear it!" she exclaimed in happiness and I smiled, helping her put it.

"I have the same one, by the way." her eyes became big.

"We are matching?" she screeched and I jumped in surprise. Okay...

"Yeah...if you don't mind?"

"Yes, I mean, No! I don't mind! This is amazing! Thank you!... But what about Elena and Bonnie?" I shook my head. They didn't need it.

"This is only between us two, Care." if her smile could get any bigger, it might split her face. It pleased her. That was obvious.

"Won't they mind?"

"They might." I faked a thoughtful face. "If someone asks, why don't we say that these were gifts from your mom?" she looked at me puzzled. "I just want for us two to match and I don't want to explain myself why I didn't give them one too. It's our secret." Caroline nodded seeing my point. And if she did say that to anyone, especially Damon when he tries to compel her two days from now, he will come to the understanding that the Sheriff is aware of the vampires and is protecting her daughter. He wouldn't risk it by harming her. Full proof plan!

After deciding that she will pick me up tomorrow so we could go to school together, I entered the house. I was barely juggling all of the bags I had and decided to stop in the kitchen.

"Adelle?" came the surprised voice of the one and only Elena Gilbert. If this was really not a dream, hell only knew what plans I had for this girl! She and Jenna were eating dinner when I barged in.

"Sorry for interrupting, guys, I just have to leave some of the things I got." was my neutral respond. Don't know why but after spending the entire day with Caroline and having talked with Jenna, I to some extend wasn't so fond of the doppelganger. She not only played two brothers and hurt them, but because everyone protected her so fiercely, almost all of them died...more than once. I knew that wasn't her fault, don't get me wrong, I wouldn't bash her or her choices but if I had any say in the matter, I would never let it happen. So forgive me if I had no desire to be anything to her but … neutral.

"What happened with your hair?" asked Jenna. I grinned and twirled around.

"For some time I was thinking of doing it and decided that today was going to be as good as any other day." I explained and put the tea bags and the salads on the island next to them. I chose to ignore the curious looks from Elena and the no doubt opinion that was to come with it. Honestly, not everything I did had to have a deeper meaning, but I was sure Jenna told her about our morning together and she was definitely looking for one. But then Jeremy came in just as abruptly as I did, he threw me a questioning look but apart from that he still acted as a spoiled brat. You know what? He was never one of my favorite people on the show, so I was going to ignore him all together till he came to his senses. I could have saved him from all the nagging Elena was going to put him through but why waste my time and energy? If I was going to stay here, some things...okay...a darn load of things were going to change. Neglecting both siblings, I turned to Jenna.

"How is the presentation?"

"Done and ready, thanks to you." she smiled and I winked in return. "You know I like the new look, if anyone can pull it off, it's you, Addie." well that made me feel a lot better.

"Thank you, Jenna!" I saw that Elena wanted to tell me something but I was in no mood for her right now, really if I hated something with passion, it was a damsel in distress. Sorry. Not sorry. "I'm late for dinner, but how about muffins for breakfast?" I asked.

"Can you eat them?"

"We will make different types, don't worry!" I answered and she stood up, coming to my side and helping me with the task. While cooking Elena and her aunt conversed, Jeremy grunted in annoyance every time his sister tried to pry in his business and send me curious looks. What does this boy want? He is angry when Elena speaks with him. He is angry when Jenna talks to him. He is angry to the whole world. And yes I get it, he is grieving, but the way he acts with the remaining of his family is shitty at best. After such a tragic experience he should be treasuring his sister and aunt. But no, he is pushing them away. That's why, you grumpy brat, don't look so expectant of me to talk with you.

When we were done, the whole kitchen was smelling divine. Surprisingly Jeremy was still gracing us with his presence, which was never something that happened in the series. Jenna was ecstatic about it, even if the only responses she got from him were one worded. Oh well. When everything was back in place I decided that it was time to go to my room. I took the rest of the shopping bags and went upstairs, the moment I shut my door I heard Jeremy's doing the same thing. Was he staying downstairs only because I was there? Naah... Not possible.

I was in the middle of putting my new clothes in the wardrobe when someone knocked. It was Elena, she came in tentatively like she was afraid of me lashing at her for some reason. I should have expected that.

"Can we talk?" the brown haired girls asked.

"Look, Elena, I know why you are here. No, I never blamed you for our parents dead, it was an accident. Yes, I am okay and yes I actually mean it. Just like you I was grieving, but tomorrow is a new start and just as you plan on starting fresh I did that but a day earlier." I said even without sparing her a look, she was certainly shocked and when I turned to her, I found out I was right.

"I...oh..okay..." she was uncertain but at the same time relieved, managing a smile too.

"You on the other hand, you are pushing the said grieving behind a front, a facade of 'I'm good.', 'I'm much better, thank you.' That's not healthy. Who cares what people say or think Elena? You've done the right thing by breaking up with Matt, you need time, to find yourself, to make yourself happy and whole and you don't need a guy in order to do that." STEFAN. STEFAN! "Do you want my advice?" she nodded mutely still shocked by the lecture I was giving her. "Stay away from any relationship. All your life you had some boy next to you, it made you a real life damsel, you need to be strong and in order to really achieve it, the only people you should lean on is yourself and your family. Everything else is a distraction, another way to push your problems away or replace them with something else."

"I am not interested in dating anyone, Addie." said Elena after a brief pause in which she watched me pull out my new pillows.

"You never know, Elena. I'm not saying, 'don't dare go out with anyone', don't close yourself, just give yourself time. You are the most important." I shrugged. In response she sighed and nodded again, deep in thought.

"Are we...good?" she asked.

"Yes we are good." I smiled a little. After a small awkward silence, she was out of the door. I had a feeling that the tough love I gave her was going to bite me in the ass and I was going to find myself in a lot more situations like this, where I would be giving my opinion. That is, if I didn't wake up at home and all of this was a dream.

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The next morning, I found myself in the same bedroom, facing the same wall with hundreds of photos, with a low groan I turned around and saw that I woke up two hours before my alarm. Great. Oh wait, I was still in the vampire diaries universe. And just like that all came crashing down, the much awaited freaking out part finally happened.

Oh. My...

I am Adelle Gilbert. Gilbert. Elena Gilbert is sleeping soundly in the next bedroom over. Somewhere around town are lurking two vampires, an ex-ripper and an emotionless sick puppy for a manipulative bitch. The mayor is a werewolf and my presumed best friend is a witch.

And shit load of other stuff.

This was real.

Real.

Not a dream, I had dyed my hair gray! Wait...

What about my real life? My big sister and her baby girl? Our sibling fights and girl talks? My mother with the highest expectations ever and the lust for traveling she and I shared a love for? My father that taught me everything from how to drive to making me a sport-know-it-all at the age of 8? What about my dog?

I don't know how long I stood there hyperventilating, looking for answers as to why I was here. Midst my shock I had gathered my laptop and was searching for any of my family. They didn't exist here. None of them. I was crying without knowing, then I was throwing things, and when the fear, shock and anger finally disappeared I was left with a clear head.

I was staying here. Don't know for how long, or how I got to be in this world in the first place, but I was at heart an opportunist, while I found a way to go back I would play with the plot for as much as I wished. Now when I made up my mind I decided that the first course of action was to take a shower.

When this dream actually came out to be the real deal, I had to think things over. And where best to do it if not while bathing?

First the Salvatore brothers, I admit I have a small crush on both of them but let's be real, they will sooner rather than later be head over hills for my now apparently older sister. This was still so fucked up. I swear. But it was good, while they were all over her I would be able to play in the shadows and change the events. Ideas were already forming in my head. Stefan was good from the beginning, but Damon had to find out that Katherine was never in the tomb for him to start feeling again and turning the switch on. Till then I wouldn't put it past him that he can snap my neck. And just like that all the more ideas came to mind. Good thing I have read so many fictions on this show, I had a lot of inspiration.

My thoughts ran all the way to when Katherine showed up, then the Originals but this was too far in the future, I was afraid how will today go...what about the next months? Maybe it would be a good idea to tell someone, but why do it? There were other ways to get what I wanted without exposing myself. For the moment, that is.

After finally getting out, I styled my hair in the loose waves that I was naturally born with, I put on my everyday eyeliner that made my eyes pop and some mascara. Done. I was too nervous to do anything more, really. Then I pulled on burgundy colored tight pants with black boots and black blouse with an exposed back and added all my rings and took my bag. Downstairs, I was the first to enter the kitchen so I strapped my camera on my right shoulder and prepared vervain tea for me and Jenna and coffee for Elena and Jeremy. I was eating a muffin when Jenna walked in and in comparison to the pilot she was a lot more put together, calmer. I patted myself on my shoulder. No kidding I did it. No one noticed. Soon Elena and then Jeremy joined us but I was not going to stay for too long. Sue me, it was their family and I had no more nerves to spare on the tension that was between the siblings. Hey, I might like them, in time I might consider them friends, but I doubt that any of them could replace my sister.

Thankfully Caroline came early so I took the chance and got out of there.

"You look gorgeous!" I grinned at the blond when I got in.

"You too, Addie." At least I could count on her to be the person to smile in this broody town.

When we got to school, she left me to talk with some cheerleaders from her squad. That was bad because I had no idea where I was going and it was full with students. I entered the building and the noise hit me immediately. Ugh.

While walking I was looking at my schedule and the numbers on the doors, great I probably looked more of a new student then Stefan did. And let's be real, if people didn't talk about 'poor Adelle, she lost her parents.', 'she must be so sad', it would be about my change of hair style. Those small towns probably haven't see anything like this. Tche. A lot of kids stopped to ask me how I was doing, or just greeted me with hellos. Oh okay, I might be popular here, but then again I was best friends with three cheerleaders.

"Addie?" I heard a male voice, thinking it was another student saying good morning, it turned out to be Tyler with Matt next to him.

"Guys! Hi!" was that normal? Well I was a ball of nerves here, sorry if I might be acting like a fool. It didn't help that I was speaking with a future werewolf and the ex of… my sister. Such a madness. But before I could try and say anything more, Tyler had me in my arms, giving me a hug. Okay. Wow. I did not see that coming.

"Next time you decide to hide from the face of the world give me a call and I will come with you, Ad." wasn't Tyler Lockwood supposed to be a total jerk before he started dating Caroline? Where was all this affection coming from?

"I like your hair, Addie." nodded Matt with a small smile looking around me, no doubt for Elena. Idiot. Tyler shared my opinion because he rolled his eyes and said.

"Leave him be, now tell me what happened with you, Ad?" and like that he slung his arm over my shoulders and walked with me to class. My saviour. Matt was trailing behind us, but I chose to ignore him all together. Never one of my favorite people, especially of how he dumped Caroline when finding out she was a vampire. While we walked I found out some shocking information. Tyler and I were best friends, like real, no joke best friends. It became clear to me when he told me all about Vicki and then even how he and his father were at each other throats. And that was major thing, Tyler Lockwood in the show never talked about any of this with anyone, even Matt. Later I would find out that we became so close when I had talked with him after a spat between the future wolf and the Mayor. That has been two years ago, and since then the bad-ass-jerk-to-the-rest-but-not-me Tyler looked at me as the sister he never had, as the confidante that he dearly needed. He was my overprotective big brother and the shoulder I cried on when I found out my parents were dead. That spoke volumes.

Matt more or less spoke to me because he was a good guy and his ex was my sister. We didn't have anything in common and I don't think we would ever be anything more than the other best friend of Tyler. But I was okay with that.

Just before we turned left, I came to the view of Elena entering the men bathroom and Bonnie ogling Stefan's back. Yep, that would be fun. I escaped Ty with the words that I would talk with him later and went straight to the information desk where no doubt the vampire was compelling his way in the school. Stalker much?

"Hi! I'm Adelle Gilbert and I would like to change some of my classes, please." I said to the receptionist, she was done with Stefan so he had no reason to stay longer but he did and I could feel his stare on the side of my face, where he stood just a foot away. Keep it together Addie, yes he is hot and damn near perfect but still you have a lot more important things to do and he would be a goner when he starts to interact with Elena. Best solution? Ignore him completely.

"Ah, Miss Gilbert, yes, I received information about your desire to replace some of the courses you have. I presume that you would take advanced photography and art, yes?" that surprised me.

"How do you know that?"

"Oh, I doubt that there is anyone in town that doesn't know about your amazing talent and haven't seen the rare photos you have presented after the great insistence of Mayor Lockwood." she chuckled and I was left speechless. Everyone? So maybe I wasn't popular only because Elena was my sister. Figures. I was embarrassed and felt the blush creeping on my cheeks. I tucked a strand of hair behind my right ear and for a brief moment my eyes went to the vampire next to me. What is he still doing here? Wait, is he smiling at me?

"Ah...thank you. I think." I returned my attention back to the receptionist. I was very rarely intimidated or embarrassed about or by something. My photographs were those somethings.

"No problem dear, here is your new schedule. You have history as first class, hurry up or Mister Tanner won't be happy." the woman smiled and I nodded. Better do that. When I turned around, Bonnie and Elena were nowhere to be found, almost everyone was in class already. As I walked out I turned left but a voice stopped me.

"I might be wrong, being new and all, but I think history is in this direction." And there stood in all his glory and a smile on his face Stefan Salvatore. When I was in the reception I payed him no mind but now when he was in front of me that was hard to do. He looked even better in person. Damn those Salvatore genes.

"That's where I was going." I countered back not whiling to admit I was wrong and he saw right through me, making his smile get bigger and his eyes shine with amusement. Tche.

"Yes, I have no doubt about this." I rolled my eyes and turned right, passing him on my way to this forsaken lesson. Even if I was walking fast he had no trouble keeping up with me. What was his problem? Darn it and his speed and long legs making him a head taller. "I'm Stefan Salvatore." he introduced himself. I spared him a look just for a moment and then continued on looking ahead.

"Adelle Gilbert." I said stopping myself from saying that he already knew that. "Don't worry about being new here." I decided to not be completely rude. "You will soon find yourself being surrounded by people that would want to get to know you." he looked at me curiously.

"How do you know that?" I shrugged and pulled the strap of my camera more securely on my shoulder.

"I just know." and like that we were in front of the right classroom.

"Thank you for showing me the way, Adelle." said very much amused Stefan as we both faced the door and listened to Tanner shouting at some poor student. I sighed deeply. The downfall of getting in this darn dimension.

"Oh, shut it." was my lame respond and I knew it held no power if not just to make his grin bigger. And we walked in.

For the rest of the day all I heard from Caroline was about Stefan. I had two more classes with him and I payed him no attention, and let's be real, he was probably staring at Elena most of the time. Eh. I talked with Bonnie after my first class when she cornered me. I admit, I had a little fan girl moment with the soon to be powerful witch and I encouraged her to talk with her Grams the two times she mentioned about her skills. From the looks of it she heard me and was really planning to do it. Wow, surprise there, people listened to my advice. Who knew? If she did it that would be a major change in plot because she would start to develop her magic a lot sooner and faster. When I wasn't with Caroline, I would be with Tyler and vice versa, I felt like those two were a divorced couple fighting over their child and the custody.

When the day was finally over, I had succeeded in avoiding Jeremy and Vicki as well as Stefan and Elena. That was a win, I tell you. I knew Elena was going to visit her parents and neither of my friends could drop me at home, so I was walking. That was till I exited the school and saw Stefan watching Elena drive away, no doubt waiting to go after her. So I passed him, like he wasn't even there.

I had to get myself home. I had to find a shovel.

Yes, you heard right.

"You are walking home?" surprised me out of my thoughts Stefan that was once again walking beside me. What was that all about?

"How do you know that?" was my instant question.

"I..ugh..I talked with your sister, Elena? She said something about it." was his lame excuse. Next time, dear vampire, think of something better to cover your eavesdropping.

"Yes, I have no doubt about this." I threw his words right back at him. And he got it because in respond he laughed.

"Do you want me to give you a lift?" I stopped dead in my tracks. Was he for real? Why would he suggest that? After seeing my stunned face his laughter got a little louder. Before I could stop myself, my camera was in my hands and I took a photo. That got his attention. "Did you just..."

"If you are going to keep following me around, Stefan, you should get used to this. My camera is always with me." I interrupted him and I was graced with a charming smile from the vampire.

"You really do love photography, don't you?" I shrugged not wanting to get any deeper in this topic. He got the message.

"So.. about me giving you a ride?"

"I'm sure you have something else you should be doing now, Stefan. I don't mind walking." once again he had a questioning look on his face but I was already walking ahead. "See you around, Stef!" I waved over my head not even turning to see his reaction. I had things to do.

* * *

Thanks to google maps, I found the Gilbert's house, changed my clothes and found a shovel. I put it in the back of the car that it came out to be mine and decided to wait till Elena was back so I could go out. Like that I was sure that both Salvatores would no longer be lurking around the grave yard. I finished my work and then called Jenna, asking where the old Gilbert things were. That's why a while later I found myself in the attic, searching all the boxes. I found the journals, some old clothes and photos and when I was getting ready to give up I came upon Johnathan's watch. Yes! The compass was in my possession. I took it to my room and hid it below the small couch where I taped it with scotch.

Sorry but I had no better ideas for the moment.

"Are you cleaning or something?" made me jump in surprise Jeremy, who was leaning on my door, looking questioningly.

"My earring fell off." I covered up quickly. It was becoming fascinatingly easier to lie.

"So what's up with the hair?" my supposed brother asked after nodding.

"Why? You don't like it?"

"No." after a small pause he answered, considering his words. "It's okay. I like it." I smiled a little appreciating that he wasn't acting like a such brat as last night.

"Thank you, Jeremy." he was going to say more but the front door made a sound and he just left, going to his room. Did he have an Elena radar in his ass or something so that whenever he sensed her he would do a one eighty and piss me off? Because it was really the doppelganger that walked in the house and this was my cue to go.

I passed her not having anything to say to her but I kept a smile on my face so she wouldn't mistake me ignoring her as the same as Jeremy ignoring her. Because I was just not interested, already knowing what happened to her today. The little Gilbert was the one throwing the tantrums. I did not need a lecture.

Again with the help of google maps I found the cemetery and after a half an hour of searching I got to the place where the father dearest of the Salvatores was buried. And that's how exhausting three hours and half started. Let me tell you it looks a lot easier to dig out a grave then it is. It was hell! When I finally managed I was all sweaty and tired, my hands were full with splinters and I had two cursing-the-world pauses. But I got my paws on the Bennett 'cook book' as Damon liked to call it. And it was worth having the advantage here. Two more hours and the earth was back in place and I hopped that it would rain soon so it could cover to some extend my work here.

With one last breath I got to the house and went straight to the shower, when in my comfy pyjamas I entered the kitchen where I met Jenna working on her laptop.

"How was your day, Addie?" she asked as I served myself dinner.

"Good good, as long as I ignored the sympathy looks I got." she chuckled and told me that it would get easier. I knew that Elena was at the grill now having her fill of her future boyfriend while he was questioned by Caroline. Trust me the blond send me numerous texts to keep me posted after finding out that I had no desire of going.

* * *

The next day school couldn't go slower, Bonnie and Caroline were talking my ears off about the party tonight and I had to keep quiet that I had no intentions of partying. Really, it was the lamest event of all the ones that would be held. Why waste my time? So I nodded and laughed, while internally I was once again plotting.

Now that I got the witch book, I had to make sure that I had some of the white oak stake that the famous bridge in town was made of. It was another precaution for the future. Few hours later I was doing exactly that. If digging out a grave was hard, this was next to impossible. I managed to get only a piece that will work for one stake, but that was far from enough. Then I thought, what was the next best thing? The ash from this three, it will not kill an original but it will dagger them till it is removed. So I started to cut whatever I could get my hands on. I gathered small scrapings and small parts that when burned correctly would become an amazing weapon. When I deemed what I got enough I went home and saw that sooner or later someone will text or call me about Vicki's attack.

I changed my clothes, after getting clean and put away the white oak stash I created again below my couch. I would keep all of it there till Katherine came here, no one else would even consider snooping there. I would have to think of somewhere else to put it then.

 _'Vicki is in the hospital. - Bonnie.'_

 _'Vicki was attacked by an animal. - Ty.'_

 _'I'm picking Elena and Jeremy from the party. - Jenna.'_

 _'Meet us at the Grill, ASAP! - Care.'_

My phone beeped almost simultaneously from all the messages.

On my way there I called Tyler, we agreed that I was going to sleep at his house. At his words "I need you, Ad." I knew that he cared for Vicki even if he never showed it on the show. So I informed Jenna about the change of plans. When I entered the Grill I gave myself a minute to appreciate the place, in the show you only saw a few parts of it but in person it was a lot bigger and it had a nice feeling to it. Just like I imagined it on my left it was full with tables and people then on my right you had to walk up a few steps to get to the platform where the bar was. Everything was made of dark wood and I knew why it was such a popular place. In the back I didn't miss the pool table and the darts where some students where now playing. I didn't need a lot of time to pin point where Caroline and Bonnie were seated and that scene made me remember that just opposite of them was the one and only Damon Salvatore. I didn't dare spare him anything more than a fleeting glance, I might have a crush on him but in his current place he could kill me without much thought.

"Hello, girls." I greeted my two from this dimension friends when I finally came up to them. Caroline looked trashed and I saw how depressed her encounter with Stefan had made her. On the other hand, Bonnie looked more or less annoyed no doubt wanting to go home but in the same time insensitive about her blond companion problem. So what? Just because Care acted most of the time as an airhead and a mean girl, the witch should know that this was only a front. But of course whenever it came down to it, Bonnie would always choose Elena's side. This made me angry.

"Where were you?" exclaimed Caroline.

"I was in no mood for a party." was my vague respond.

"But we thought you would come." the witch tried to understand why I never showed up. I rolled my eyes and sighed taking a seat on the table.

"No, you two never did ask me straight out if I was going, you only presumed that I was, and really from the looks of it I didn't miss much."

"Didn't miss much? Vicki was attacked by an animal!" Bonnie's eyes became big with shock of my disinterest of the situation.

"Yes, I heard. And look at you two sitting here and looking like the death has visited you."

"Why am I never the one?!" suddenly cried out the head cheerleader. "Why do guys never pick me?" so this was about Stefan. The witch sighed.

"I'm not touching that." I suddenly stood up deciding that it was better to cool off a little before I completely lashed out at Bonnie.

"I'll be back in a second." I didn't let them say anything to me as I made my way to the bar. Coincidence or not I waited for the barman to come just next to the famous blue eyed vampire, who had a smirk on his face, that could literally win girl's hearts over. Man he was even more sinful in present. No doubt he had listened on our conversation and was amused by the palpable teenage drama that was still going on there.

"Long night?" and yes his voice was swoon worthy. God, how could it be fair that he had such a deep and alluring voice? Paired up with his looks, he was the incarnation of the devil himself. But wait why is he talking to me? Tche. He sure as hell knew who my sister was, I bet he wants to get closer to her by using me. Thankfully I was saved from saying anything, but only glancing at him, by the guy behind the bar.

"What can I get you?"

"Water with lemon, please."

"You mean, lemonade?" came the confused response of the man. I rolled my eyes and answered.

"No. A glass of water with the juice of half a lemon."

"Honey or sugar?" came next his doubtful question. Why was it always this reaction that I got from people? I liked the sour flavour of the drink, it wasn't all the way to the real lemonade because it wasn't made by soda and honey. It was plain water and lemon. How can it be so hard to grasp?

"No, thank you."

"Oh. But it will be too acidly, Miss." God, why did he keep arguing with me? It didn't help that Damon there was chuckling oh so obviously at my expense.

"Yes, I am aware of that...Jonny. But I like it that way." he nodded after a small pause and went to work.

"Quiet the taste you got there." once again the vampire conversed with me. Or tried to, that is.

"Nothing can do about that." I decided to indulge myself and answer him. The amusement in his gorgeous eyes grew bigger no doubt pleased that he got my attention. Probably right now his mind was playing over all the numerous possible scenarios in which he can use me as a blood bag or a piece in his life's mission to terrorize his brother. Not me pal. Not me.

"Well, I like it when my women know what they want." was he...was he flirting with me? I was having an inner freak out break down. I would be hyperventilating with the mare thought of this man even sparing me a glance, but to try and hit on me? That was too much, but thanks to all that is up there, I composed myself, succeeding in not letting him see how his heated gaze made my insides giddy.

"Good for you." I would have patted my own back for how neutral I sounded and that I didn't miss the millisecond surprise on his futures when he saw that I wasn't falling for his seducing methods in getting the girls wrapped around his finger. My lemon water was presented to me then, I paid for it and got the hell away from him. I didn't dare look over my shoulder to see his reaction, but I felt his burning gaze on my back. Shit I got his attention.

I forgot all about that the moment when I was back in the presence of the witch. Caroline still looked distressed and her inner insecurities were floating on the surface and her friend just stood there and did nothing to try to console her. I was angry once again.

"You know what Bonnie?" that got me both of their attention. I was standing in front of them and the anger was bubbling so fiercely under my skin that I couldn't sit down. "I know that you can be judgmental but I never thought you could be so indifferent about how bad your presumed best friend for years is feeling." her eyes became large with disbelief. She was going to get it. "I don't know what this is all about, and I frankly don't give a damn but Caroline is sad and insecure and you are doing nothing about it!"

"It's okay, Addie, it's stupid, Stefan rejected me, nothing big." The blond tried to cut me off, but I wasn't going to leave it at that.

"So what? You are choosing Elena's side over hers? Or are you seriously thinking by 'not touching that' you are staying neutral about the problem?" I didn't let her answer. "I know that Caroline is neurotic, controlling and most of the times insensitively blabbering right out what is on her mind, but I thought that at least you could see that this was a front, that beneath it she is a caring, loyal friend, that could make anyone laugh and that because of her insecurities she acts like a mean girl. You as her friend should never doubt her! But here you are, not really caring about her problem. If it was Elena in her place you would be trying to console her, but instead of that you just brush it off as one of Caroline's drama moments! Can't you see that whatever this idiot told her, it did hurt her?" I almost shouted when I finished with the vomit of words that came out of me. Both girls were shut in a silence, not believing that I said any of this.

"I... Addie, it's not like that..." the witch tried to justify her actions, or lack of there to me, but I shook my head.

"I don't care about your excuses, Bonnie Bennett, it wasn't me you were a bad friend to. If I was in Caroline's place, I would have long left you alone and your obvious Elena preference." she looked hurt but I wasn't done. She needed to hear this, I vividly remember the scene when the witch finds out that Care was a vampire and leaving her to fend for herself. This was no way how friends should act with one another. "No one likes to be the second choice, Bonnie. The second best."

I grabbed my blond friend's hand and lifted her up.

"Come on, Caroline, I will give you a ride." I didn't let Bonnie protest, because I was already pulling my new found friend from this dimension out of the boot.

"Addie, I..." Care wanted to say something but I waved her off.

"You are welcome, Care." I smiled at her and her previously broody expression was replaced with a big and vibrant smile that screamed thankfulness. I made the mistake of glancing back and my gaze was caught with a pair of beautiful eyes that I would recognize anywhere. Damon smirked at me, and I knew he had listened in on everything that I have said, then he lifted his glass with bourbon and saluted me with it. I couldn't help myself and rolled my eyes.

When in my car, Caroline broke down and started to cry but in the same time laugh by how I shouted at Bonnie. She said over ten times how grateful she was that I stood up for her and how amazing it was that I could understand her so well. I on the other hand told her that Stefan wasn't worth it if he didn't see how precious she was.

After getting her home, I drove towards the Lockwood's mansion, I had a few minutes while going there to freak out about my first meeting with the Damon Salvatore. A little fan girl moment later, I regulated my breathing and realized that by getting Caroline with me I prevented the scene, where the vampire talked with her outside the Grill, from happening. They would not sleep together tonight and as the blond had vervain on her, he was surely going to search for a replacement. If I remembered correctly he used the blond for blood, sex and a way to get close to Elena. Now he had to find another way.

When I got to Tyler's home he was already waiting for me outside, I didn't have the time to explain to him why I was so late, because the moment I was a step away from him, he had me in his bulky arms, squeezing the crap out of me. Yep he was wasted. I didn't have the luxury of looking around the expensive house where more or less most of the events in the show took place, because the future wolf was pulling me towards what I presumed to be his bed room. He was indeed worried for Vicki, and yes he didn't love her, but that didn't stop him from caring. His parents never approved of him seeing her, so he couldn't go to the hospital and find out how was she and Matt wasn't picking up his phone.

After he got it all out and I listened to him carefully, I promised him that I would go tomorrow morning and see for myself how his-not-girlfriend was doing. We ate together and he made fun of my new food diet, which would have annoyed me greatly if it didn't put his mind to ease and made him laugh.

Funny.

Today I might just have made two real friends in the faces of Caroline Forbes and Tyler Lockwood.

* * *

I woke up bright and early and left a message for the sleeping boy on the floor that I was going to the hospital and that I would see him at school. I also left him two aspirins for the headache he no doubt would be having, which I took from the Gilbert house. I was an expert with drunken night re-precautions. Surprisingly, Tyler was never portrayed as the talkative type in the show but last night he proved me just the opposite. Maybe it was the alcohol or that he saw me as a little sister slash best friend, but now I knew him in an entire different light.

I drove home and prepared sandwiches and coffee. When I was done and I had eaten some fruit I went to Jeremy's bedroom and barged in without knocking. He was still soundly asleep.

"Jeremy." I shook him with a little force so I wouldn't need to do it again because this was kind of awkward. He sprang up in a sitting position, dark circle under his eyes, he did care about Vicki a lot too it seems.

"Addie...wha...what are you doing in my room?" he asked still not anywhere near awake. I rolled my eyes and put my hands on my hips. Brat, I had only slept for three hours, consoling a dormant werewolf after having shouted at a witch and flirted with by a deadly vampire! What was his excuse?

"I'm going to visit Matt and Vicki in the hospital before school, I'll be going in ten minutes, if you want to come get your ass up." his eyes snapped in shock towards me, probably not expecting me to do any of this and most of all promised-sort-of-ordered-him to tag along. But who was he kidding I knew he was going there either way, at least like that he might not skip the entire day of school.

Wait. Why did I even care?

Oh, yeah, because he was mine this-dimension-supposed-little-brother, and his other sister was too busy with the new vampire in town to pay attention to her own sibling.

"I...okay. I'll be down in a minute." I nodded and exited the room that looked like a bomb had fallen in there. Brat.

I was in the kitchen when he came and I wordlessly gave him a cup of coffee and a sandwich, packing a thermos with the hot drink and two more portions from the food for the Donovan kid. Jeremy looked at me strangely but didn't say anything. He actually listened to what I said and ate his food, following me out of the door. In the car, when we were already nearing the hospital, he opened his mouth.

"Why are you doing this?"

"You are my brother and I know enough about you that you would have come either way. Fuck the school. I was coming too, so why not kill two birds with one stone?" I asked and he nodded still throwing me a glance or two before getting his attention back on the road.

Whatever.

"Thank you."

Wait. What? Did he just...? I looked at him but his back was turned to me, no doubt embarrassed of his own words. What did those Gilberts teach their kids? To be so awkward that they couldn't even say thank you without getting all red or something? So I decided to shrug as my only response and save him from the situation.

When we found Matt he looked like he hadn't even blinked last night, after finding out that Vicki was okay and asked a few more questions that I already knew the answers of, I gave him the coffee and the food, which he was surprised but thankful of non the less. I left my outer dimension brother there, seeing it was time for school. When I got there I remembered that today was the comet thingy and Vicki was going to be attacked again. Geez, this girl couldn't catch a break.

But what about me? I don't want to sound whiny or anything but for the last few days so much had happened that I was almost drained of any energy, the stress and everything was getting to me. Most of all I missed my family. My real one. I tried not to think about it, so I kept myself busy, but in moments like that I just couldn't stop it. Did they look for me? How were they holding up? Was I really missing, or just like some fictions I had read, I had died there for it to be possible for me to come here in this dimension. A shiver went down my spine, what if that's what did happened? I just couldn't bear the thought of how devastated they would be. My mother would have a break down, her and my father would have even more spats between each other. And my sister...my big sister...yes we fought a lot, what siblings don't, but whenever we needed each other we were there. Now she probably thought I was dead.

I was walking towards the school building deep in my mind, when I saw Stefan and Elena smiling at each other. The sadness quickly transformed into an anger and I marched up to them. Hate me later, for all I care but I needed to shout at someone, and the vampire was the perfect outlet. Don't judge, I knew I was acting the role of an O.C. in this story and I had to be the sacrificing one, trying to save everyone and make it all better, but I was human, I was a teenage girl, that was put in this alter world where mystical creatures existed and I had to watch people make mistake over and over just like I did with the show. I had lost my family, I didn't have the slightest clue how to get back to them, so sue me for being a bitch some of the times!

"Addie...where were you last night?" asked Elena when she saw me coming, was she blind? Didn't she sense how mad I was? Geez what a sister I had. I ignored her completely and went straight to the vampire standing next to her, before anyone could react I slapped him with all the strength I had. So what if he could heal momentarily, I didn't care, he deserved it!

His eyes went wide, just like Elena's, both not expecting for me to react this way. At all. You have no idea, pals. I glared at him, not hiding how angry I was.

"Adelle...?" was the only thing he managed to say before I started talking, my voice surprisingly low but cold. All I wanted was to scream at him.

"I don't care who you think you are, coming here and acting like the perfect gentleman. You really had me fooled, almost convincing me that we could be friends, but now all I feel about you Stefan Salvatore is disgust." I heard the quiet gasp coming from the doppelganger and overlooked the hurt look that showed on the vampire's face. "Caroline is my best friend, she might be too much some times and she might have been drunk last night, but in no way or form would she ever deserve the way you acted with her! Fine, you are not interested in her, cool, it happens, big deal! But I will never let someone walk over her feelings like that." I kept glaring at him and he had the decency to look ashamed. Too late. You already damaged my blond friend making her feel even more insecure about herself. From the moment I saw the scene play in the series I wanted to shout at him and now I had this possibility.

"Addie, what are you talking about?" asked the Gilbert and I turned to her, why should I tell her? When she spoke with Bonnie she would get all the juicy details. I'm certain.

"It doesn't matter; the damage is done." I told her and decided that it was enough. I was going to walk away from them, but a strong hand stopped me, by grabbing, firmly but gently in the same time, mine. I looked back and saw Stefan with an expression I never would have thought he would give me. Me. His eyes showed desperation, they were pleading me to do something that I didn't know about. His grip didn't let me get away and I was kind of amazed that he would waste his time on me. In the series he didn't look one bit apologetic. So why now? Oh, Elena, he didn't want to look bad in front of her, but that was more Damon's thing to do, not his. But the more I looked at him the more I knew he didn't want me to see him in a bad light.

"Adelle, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have talked to Caroline in such way." I shook my head.

"It's not me should apologize to, Salvatore." No more first name for this guy.

"I know, I know, I want you to understand that I didn't mean any of those words in a harmful way." he stepped closer, I stepped back.

"Does it matter? Obviously you are after something." I threw a look in my dimensional sister direction. She looked stunned. "All the consequences be damned." I got a questioning look from the vampire like he didn't understand what I was talking about, so I rolled my eyes and pulled my hand free. He let me. "Don't talk with me." and I walked away.

You might say that I was overreacting, but for a second place yourself in the shoes of Caroline, how would you feel always being second to the famous Elena Gilbert, always people thinking you are an airhead, a dumb blond and your friends to never really defend you? Huh? And let's face it, all of the stress from the past few days was just waiting to burst out of me. Stefan was the lucky one to find himself on the receiving end.

"Addie! Wait! Addie!" I looked back and saw Elena running towards me. Now that I had finally let out the frustration I was calmer and was able to see that we were the only ones not in class. Great. And I had Tanner too. Such a wonderful day I had.

"What, Elena?" I asked not in the mood to communicate with her. She stopped in front of me, panted for a moment, catching her breath.

"I... wanted to talk. We had barely said a word to each other since the night before the first day back." was her reason and I only nodded continuing to walk seeing as she could now follow me. We both had history and Stefan from the looks of it was skipping.

"Okay. Let's talk, how was your night with Stefan?" she looked shocked.

"What?" I wanted to groan, fine okay I will explain.

"I know he stayed over for few hours, Lena."

"How...you weren't home." home? Oh yes, the Gilbert's house. Not my home. Oh, wow, I was in a bad mood today. I send her a look so she would guess that I wasn't going to waste my time explaining myself. "We just talked." I nodded, holding back a sarcastic comment. "It's just so easy to confide in with him. He is so..." okay I'm stopping you here.

"Do whatever the hell you want Elena; you don't need to explain yourself to me. It's obvious that you didn't listen to any of my advice, so why waste my breath?" she shook her head strongly, obviously wanting to protest.

"That's not true, it's not like that..."

"So you aren't spending all of your free time with him?" she stayed silent. "You are not pushing all of your problems and concentrating on him?" silence. "I thought you wanted to be strong Elena, but in reality you are falling apart, you push everything back pretending that it's okay and dive into a romance with someone you don't know anything about. Fine he is sexy. So what? Does it justify you not healing yourself properly after your parents' death? Does it make it okay to not know a fraction of what is going on with your brother? Or how Jenna is barely holding it together? " I asked but really didn't expect an answer.

"I... I know, Addie, God I know, I am a mess..."

"And so you think that a new relationship will make it all better?" she shook her head.

"No. I... it's not like that!" I gave her a look that proved to her that I wasn't buying it. "No! It's really not like that. Yes, I'm attracted to Stefan, he is amazing but what you said to me and are repeating right now never left my mind even for a moment. I understand. I do, and you are right, I have to heal myself before doing anything else and even if Bonnie says that it's not bad for me to pursue Stefan, I know that I'm not ready. First I need my family, like you said my aunt, my brother, but you too Addie, you are my little sister." that surprised me, for a moment I had completely forgotten that we were even related...kinda...in this dimension. "I should be the one that takes care of you, that guides you, but it comes out that you are the one doing all of this. And I'm sorry, I am an awful sister. So that's why I just wanted for me and Stefan to be friends. Yes, I might have liked him when I saw him first, but it's just not the right time, I don't need a boyfriend, I need my family."

I stood there quiet for a moment or two. Thinking over her words, as I watched the show back in my world I always thought that at one hand it was very romantic the relationship Stefan and Elena had and she was better off with him then Damon, but now when I was here and this was real, I just felt like this girl in front of me didn't need a guy to fix her problems, to protect her. Elena Gilbert was always presented as the damsel, but I knew that if both brothers didn't always shoulder her problems she could be a strong girl that would have a lot healthier relationship with her brother. Hint. Not compelling him. Hint.

"Like I said, Elena, do whatever you think is best, be friends with him, be his girlfriend, whatever, but don't forget about the rest of your friends, about Jeremy too." I wanted this conversation to be over with. It was just too awkward. She spoke with me like she was my real sister, and she wasn't, so the looks she sent me made me feel anything but accepted and loved. My real sister wasn't here.

"Are you going to see the comet tonight?" asked the doppelganger, still walking with me, where was the freaking classroom?

"Probably, yes. You?" I asked, even if I knew the answer.

"Yeah, do you want to go together?" what was this all about? All of a sudden she wants to spend time with me? Maybe her not obsessing over Stefan would give her too much free time and she would be minding in my business. Not good.

"Aren't you supposed to help Caroline and Bonnie with the flyers?"

"Oh! I totally forgot about that! Wait why aren't you roped in doing the same thing?" she asked and looked at me curiously while I searched for the freaking classroom.

"You know, Care might scare and control everyone...but me." she laughed at my words and I even smiled a little.

"Where are we going exactly?" the brunette asked and I stopped letting out a frustrated groan.

"Tanner. History." was my one worded respond and I got a strange look from the girl that followed me around.

"Addie, we passed it twice already." I huffed in disbelief. Seriously? Ignoring her stare, I turned around and kept walking. "Addie, are you okay? You seem..." different? Like I wasn't me? Like I was from another world?

Tell me about it.

I was Adelle Gilbert. Gilbert! It would take me longer to get used to that. Like a lot longer.

After being shouted at from the jerk of a teacher I managed to ignore Bonnie for the rest of the school day. She would throw me pleading looks and from what Caroline told me they were both good now. Speaking of the blond she told me that Bonnie talked with her and apologized for being a sucky friend and even Stefan called her. No idea how he got her number. And he did the same as the witch but for the harsh way he rejected her last night. Looky here, people were taking my advice...okay...I can't really call neither of the two conversations I had with the vampire or the witch as calm and considerate. Let's face it I had downright chewed them out, but I was still happy to hear my friend say that to me.

Was I going to talk to Bonnie? Why not? She wasn't my friend and she hadn't acted bad towards me. She apologized to Care.

Stefan? Hell no. The end.

I sneaked around after my last period and avoided Caroline's persistent demands that I should help her and the girls with the comet event. Again, no. I was too lazy and my day needed some cheering up, community work just didn't cut it. Driving back to the house I decided to try and do it without the GPS, long story short, I got lost and came out to be in the other end of the town. Annoyed I had stopped the car to see on my phone how should I go back when the sign on the shop right from me caught my attention.

Animal Shelter. Blink. Blink. And alarms went off in my head. I got an idea.

Perfect.

When I entered the small building the owner showed me all of the cages full with dogs found on the street, as I looked around I remembered my real dog back at home, Rico was black and white husky that I had with me for over ten years, he was very old but I loved him as if he was one of my best friends. We were almost inseparable and just thinking of all the crazy memories I had with him made me tear up. I missed him so much. Just then I heard a small bark. I had stopped in front of a cage, not realizing doing it while being deep in thought. I looked down and saw a very thin and dirty baby Samoyed. The love I felt for it was almost instant, it looked so out of place, so scared and sad and I think that it was exactly because of this that it won me over. He was just like me. It didn't want to be here, but didn't have a way to go back, wherever that could be. I liked that no matter how fragile it seemed to be at first glance it had a spark in his eyes that promised anyone who would give him a chance that he was one hell of a character.

I made my decision.

I got the puppy, brought food and a bed for him, I even called the doctor for the shots it would need. I stopped and got dog shampoo and some other stuff. When I was finally at the house I started with giving him food. The puppy was so scared to even enter the front door that it took me a lot of time in making him come near me. I was good with dogs, they loved me so it was no surprise to me that in just less than three hours he was acting like I have been his owner for weeks. I was proud of myself and very pleased when the puppy was finally fed up and started to explore the house, it sniffed all the rooms on the first floor and I showed it my bedroom then Elena's and Jeremy.

"Jeremy is an annoying brat that most of the times would make you want to pee all over his things. Elena is okay, if you ignore her be-better-be-more-like-Stefan speeches you will be good." yes, I was talking to the dog, but hell it was like it listened to me, inclining his head from time to time, never moving his black eyes from my being. "Ah, yes, Stefan, you might hate him, puppy, he likes to eat animals..." the puppy jumped on his small feet and barked, look at him! He understood what I was saying. Told you so. "Yes, little one, I know, so you have my permission to not be okay with him. His brother Damon too. He is an asshole."

That's how I passed my time with the small puppy. When I saw that I still had an hour before the event started I decided to give him a bath. That was one hell of a war zone right there, I'm telling you. It was easy to say that the dog loved the water so I was wet in a matter of minutes. None the less when it was dry all of a sudden in front of me stood a small snow white fur ball full with energy.

"Aren't you a handsome one." I smiled at him and he barked in happiness, running around like it had drank coffee, yes water had that kind of effect on dogs. I took the opportunity to change my clothes and get ready. "I should name you something, but I will do it when I come back. Deal?" Call me crazy but I left it do whatever it wanted in the house. As my small revenge I closed my room but opened Jeremy's bedroom. But even if I wanted him to cause some mischief I somehow knew that when I got back the house would be the same as I left it to be. I can't wait to see how the Gilberts would react when they saw him.

By now I was sure that the streets of Mystic Falls were full with people waiting to see the rare comet fly in the sky, lightening up their candles and having a good time. When I find a place to park and walked towards the Grill I remembered to check up my phone. Elena was asking where was I. Bonnie wanted to talk. Tyler was asking if it was true that Jeremy and Vicki had slept together. Wait. What? Ugh. Oh! It was send ten minutes ago and if I remembered correctly, Stefan must be on some roof chatting up with his dear brother with Vicki in the middle.

And I was right, Caroline had spammed me with eight massages of how they couldn't find her and about the show down between my brother and my bff. Probably the younger Gilbert was getting his ear talked of by Elena about selling drugs. Oh, well, now I was even more glad that I skipped this drama.

I passed by the bar in a last second decision and went towards the roof where all the action was supposed to be happening. I was late. Or not. It depends, because by the time I was nearing the said building Stefan was already down on my level, with Matt's sister next to him and Damon right behind. One brother looked tired and angry. The other more than pleased with himself. I bet it was easy for you to guess which is who. Vicki was all over the place, no doubt under the compulsion done by the older vampire.

They noticed me almost immediately.

"Adelle." Stefan was the first to speak, he looked around nervously, then at the girl next to him and then his brother. His whole body became rigid when he saw that Damon was staring me with unmasked interest. "I..what are you doing here?" asked the blond brother and I rolled my eyes.

"Looking for Vicki here, but I see that you have found her." came the lie easily.

"I didn't have the opportunity to introduce myself, last time we met." Damon decided to step in and he walked over from behind Stefan, who looked like he wanted to step between us and get me away from there as fast as possible. I didn't blame him, his brother was unpredictable and this whole encounter never happened in the show. "I am Damon Salvatore, the big brother of Stefan here. It's a pleasure to meet you, Adelle." he took my hand and without breaking our locked gazes he kissed my knuckles. "By the way, I like your hair. It suits you."

"Damon..." Stefan warned and I had to make myself act like the oblivious girl I should be. Hold back the sarcastic comment, Addie. Hold it back!

"How do you know my name, Damon?" I chose to asked as I pulled my hand back. It was such a strange experience to have someone kiss it like that.

"Stefan talks a lot about you. I was bound to remember you." the black hair man answered and I quirked and eyebrow. Well, whatever. I ignored his suggestive looks and false humanity and turned my attention to Vicki.

"How are you, Vicki?"

"Oh, I'm good, had some strong stuff and ripped my bandages off. No big deal." yeah I'm sure of it. But I never got the chance to respond because Matt and Jeremy came from the corner and whisked her back into the restaurant. Matt of course thanked both brothers having no idea what really went down, before he found his sister. And just like that one moment we were six people and all of a sudden I was left alone with two vampires. The hell?

"Let me drive you home, Adelle." stepped closer Stefan and stood now next to his brother just a feet or two from me. Both a head taller than me.

"No thank you." I decline and once again I was graced with the hurt look in his green eyes.

"Look, Adelle, I apologized to Caroline, what can I do so you can stop..." a low chuckle escaped the raven haired vampire. Stefan send him a glare that was met with a silent dare to do something about it but we all knew that Stefan was nowhere near as strong as his brother.

"Problems in paradise, brother?" taunted Damon. "I see why you are so interested in Adelle here she does have a fire. I like you." he winked in my direction and I would have blushed but I knew he was just provoking his sibling.

"Okay. First, Stefan, your problem was between you and Caroline, if she is okay with you so am I. You have to excuse my behaviour this morning but I was having a bad few days and I am protective over the people I consider close." I smiled a little. "We are good. Damon, it is nice to meet you, but please stop with the false pleasantries." the said man looked at me in surprise. "I don't know what game you are playing and it is obvious that you two have bad bad blood between each other, but please don't put me in between it, or Elena."

"Ah. I've been busted." the vampire smirked and took a step closer, automatically making Stefan's rigid body even more tense. "The truth is that you are right, but I do find you interesting." I willed my heart not to sped up by the close proximity and I was saved by my phone from somewhere in my bag. I didn't miss the glare down that went in front of me as I searched for my devise. As I pulled it out, I took my camera too and before answering Jenna I snapped a quick photo of the two while standing face to face and the lights from the town behind them illuminated them.

That got their attention and I only put out my tongue sending the message – deal with it. And the nerve of both of them, they looked amused by my actions. Those boys were more alike than they would ever care to admit.

"What's up, Jenna?"

 _"What's up? Really? How about what's up Addie, with the dog I found lounging in the middle of the living room? Elena and Jeremy here have no idea about it, so that leaves you!"_

"That's Beluga." the name came to me just moment before I opened my mouth.

 _"Beluga?"_

"Yes, Beluga, as the white puppy Samoyed, that is as you said lounging in the living room. That's our new pet." I responded in a good mood, what could I give to be there and see all of their faces when they came to meet him for the first time.

 _"Where did you get it from?"_ I rolled my eyes and sighed, putting back my camera.

"Put me on speaker, I hate repeating." she did. "Okay listen up, I want a dog, I love dogs and all of you sad and miserable people there need something fluffy and lovable as Beluga. I bet you that by the end of the night all of you will love him. And I really don't care what you say, guys, I will not take him back to die in that shelter."

 _"How the hell did you decide to take a puppy?"_ came the voice of Jeremy, but he didn't sound angry or displeased. Only curious.

"I was in a bad mood. So I came to this shelter, I found Beluga and said why the hell not? Anything else or can I hang up?" a low chuckle grabbed my attention and I looked up to see both brothers still looking at me next to one another. One amused and the other with a small gentle smile on his face. What is up with both of them? Weren't they in the middle of a spat or something?

 _"Are you coming home?"_ asked Elena.

"I'll be at the house in ten minutes." and just like that not wanting to hear anything more from them, I hung up. "You will have to excuse me, gentlemen, but I need to go. See you around." and not feeling like watching another pissing contest between them, I didn't wait for a response and turned around.

If I had looked back I would have seen two identical looks sent my way, that later would develop into fascination and then obsession, which with time would transform into true affection and give a sense of belonging.

Good thing I never spared them a back glance, or I would have been scared shitless.

* * *

When I entered the Gilbert's house I was met with the view of Elena and Jeremy throwing a ball to each other.

'Beluga, come here boy!'

'Beluga catch the ball, Beluga! '

"I did tell you that he would win you over!" I exclaimed and both siblings turned to me. Elena was in possession of the toy at the moment and I was covering the shock of their smiles very well. Beluga ran right at me, barking and jumping like any other puppy happy to see his owner back home. It melted my heart. "Good boy, did you had fun with those brats." I ignored the 'hey!' and 'What do you mean brats?' comments and scratch behind its ear.

"He loves me." stated Jeremy proudly and I saw bits of the old happy boy, before all the drugs and his parent's death. "Finally some bro power in this house."

"Beluga is so cute, Addie." nodded a smiling Elena that was stealing glances at her brother, obviously she too noticing that he was more laid back then normal.

"Adelle? Is that you?" came from the kitchen Jenna. She was holding a doggy cup for water and placed it where I previously had put it before going out. "Mind telling me why you didn't ask before getting him?" she tried to look stern and because I had respect for her I didn't laughed.

"I'm sorry, aunt Jenna, it was a spur of the moment. When I saw him he was so sad and scared and so out of place in that cage that I just couldn't leave him there. Do you hate him?" I asked.

"What? No! He is adorable and didn't destroy the house while left alone here." she sent me a look and I grinned cheekily. Oops. "And well...you might be right, Beluga might be the thing we need around here." she continued and gazed at the two teenagers that had got back to playing with the puppy.

"So he can stay?" I asked.

"Like you didn't know already." scoffed my alter dimensional aunt and I hugged her in happiness.

"Thank you! Thank you!"

"But, listen you three, if he is staying you are taking care of him!" said Jenna.

"I will take him for a walk every day." I proposed. Elena nodded.

"Don't worry, aunt Jenna, we will keep him fed and well groomed." agreed Jeremy that was trying at the moment to pull the ball out of the canines of the dog.

We changed places after that, we went outside and spent the next hour or two goofing around with the puppy that managed to put a smile on everyone from the Gilbert's family faces. Who knew? Jeremy and Elena always have wanted a dog, but their father was allergic and they were never allowed to have one. Such a simple thing, but I saw how it pushed the siblings closer together as they had time to talk between playing with Beluga and Jenna was obviously glad that she was seeing them act so civilized with each other.

As I lay in bed later, Beluga snuggly already asleep in my feet, I realized that two more things did not happened as they were supposed to today. Elena never went to see Stefan at the boarding house and they never had their first kiss and Vicki never sneaked into Jeremy's bedroom. She never showed up.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer

I do not own Vampire Diaries. The O.C. is my original character.

This story will follow the series to some extend, there will be a lot of changes and you will find a partial O.O.C. here.

It will be rated **[M]** for future chapters and yes it will be a **Menage love story/P** **olygamous relationship** , if you don't like please don't read.

Big thanks to my Beta - _LapisLazuliRose_ for correcting this chapter!

 **[!]** Comments. Follows. Any kind of support is highly appreciated. No kidding, it does give the motivation to update faster.

* * *

Chapter 2

I was waking up to a strange scene today.

Like really, no kidding you.

The first thing I saw was Jeremy, my show dimension brother, lifting the sleeping puppy from where it lazed in the bottom of my bed. I silently observed him as he was acting like James Bond on a mission, and the mission was to take the dog and get out of my room, without me noticing. Fat chance, pal. He crept back two steps, when the floor made a noise and he froze in place, wincing a little. His head lifted up and his eyes peered at me.

"Oh...fu..." he stopped himself when the boy clearly understood that I have been watching him for the past minute. I was so amused that I barely managed to keep my face in a questioning expression.

"In chance of repeating your own words back at you, what are you doing?" I asked.

"Beluga was scratching on the door and I..." my don't-bullshit-me face made him pause and re-evaluate his words. Good boy. "Look, I don't know when you planned on getting up, but he needs to be fed!" exclaimed Jeremy annoyed that he was busted by his sister and was desperately covering his affection for the puppy.

"Okay, okay, calm down." I rolled my eyes and waved him off. "Just get out." he took that with relief and grabbing the dog, once again the little Gilbert was out of the door in seconds.

Now that I was awake, I took a shower and double checked that the grimoire, the compass and the white oak were still under my sofa. Getting ready, I went down and saw my … brother... eating a cereal while, Beluga sat on his feet and did the same with his food. Those two were starting to act pretty similarly to one another.

"I'm taking him out today to get his shots at the doctors." I informed the kid and when he nodded, Beluga barked once...okay totally creepy moment. Jeremy saw it too because he hardly contained his small amused smile at the puppy.

Thankfully I was out of the door before the second Gilbert came in and I was spared the annoying demands from her to come tonight at the gathering she was organizing. This was my house too; did she invite me to my own house?

Yes, she did.

So I ignored her, pretty mature of me. No?

Whatever.

When I got to school, I was ambushed by the witch that persistently was waiting for me at the entrance of the building. To be honest, I wasn't mad at her anymore, but just because I was a stubborn person by nature, I had avoided talking with her till now.

"Adelle, look, what you said..." but before Bonnie could start her speech that she no doubt had memorized and practiced over and over again, I decided to save her breath.

"Don't worry, Bonnie, I no longer am mad at you, yes I do believe that my words were true, but it was not my place to shout at you like that, back then, so if someone should apologize to someone, it is me." she was surprised by how easily it all went and smiled a little uncertain, I returned the gesture and we started walking towards first class. Today I was for the first time not late.

Shocker.

"But you were right, I do forget sometimes that Caroline is not all that she shows on the surface and I as her friend, no, best friend, should know that more than anyone else. You might have shouted at me, but you did succeed in reminding me of that." continued the witch.

"I'm happy to hear that, Care deserves only the best." I nodded.

"And about Stefan, I shouldn't have pushed Elena so strongly towards him." The witch said out of nowhere as we took our seats in the still empty classroom. " She told me what you thought about it all and I agree with you, even more now that..." she hesitated to say more and even if I knew what was the cause I pushed her to do it.

"Even more now...what?"

"I, look, you remember me telling you about those strange things I was seeing, or well...feeling?" I nodded. "When I touched him yesterday, I got a feeling of death from Stefan. It scared me." confessed the witch.

"Did you talk with your Grams?" I paused before asking. Trying to look curious, but probably failing miserably.

Hey, it's hard to act oblivious, when you know everything. Normally I would have avoided this kind of situation because of this reason.

"Yes, but she keeps telling me that I'm a witch, and I think she has lost it a long time ago."

"Bonnie, if you ask me, I think her words have some value, we both know that whatever this is, it is real. Would it hurt to try her methods and see for yourself? The worst that can happen is that you will be certain that whatever she tells you is crap." I kept on persuading her. She thought over my words for a moment.

"It won't hurt. I can spend some time with her like that too." I smiled. "Why are you so sure that it will work?"

"Because it will be so cool if it's real, Bonnie." She looked at me doubtful. "Don't give me those looks! I'm not kidding, if I was in your place I would be excited. Imagine what you could do! There won't be any boundaries for you."

"Let's not get over our heads, here." The witch protested but none the less laughed at how hyped out I was about the possibility.

Bonnie Bennett, you have no idea how right I am.

Stefan and Elena then walked in with some of the students. The girl behind me tensed up and acted very defensive when the vampire greeted her. The two new arrivals saw it too and while Stefan looked bummed out, the doppelganger was more than determine to make the 'friendly gathering' tonight a reality.

"Adelle, hi." the younger Salvatore turned to me, while sitting in the place next to me. Wasn't he three rows back, normally? What is he doing here? He was regarding me curiously all the while he kept an easy smile on his face. "I heard about your new pet." At that Elena and Bonnie laughed, both behind us two. I was sure that my presumed sister has told everything to the witch and how I just brought a puppy into the house.

"His name is Beluga." I answered.

"White, yes?" I nodded my head and his smile grew. "How is he taking his new home?" he kept on conversing with me. God, didn't this boy see how awkward I was around him?

Hello! The doppelganger is right behind you!

"Beluga is already feeling as if he is the boss of the house." I decided to indulge a little, making the vampire chuckle in amusement. Not for long, pal. "From now on when you decide to spend the night, you will have to get his permission, Stef." I winked and his whole posture changed completely.

"I... no..it wasn't like that." His green eyes grew wide, his body stiffened, and once again this pleading look took place. What was he so desperately trying to convince me of?

Geez. I was showing him that I don't have the same problem he found with Bonnie.

Or not. I just felt like biting him. Not the way he would...or not.

Addie! Concentrate!

"You don't have to explain yourself, Stefan." I smiled, trying to be reassuring as much as I could be. And because this was getting way way to awkward even for me, I turned around.

Elena saved the day by changing the topic and inviting the two over for dinner. Bonnie was not happy about it, but she had manners engraved so deep in her being that she couldn't say no. So it was decided.

Later that day, I was talking with Tyler, when he all of a sudden changed the course and from speaking about the upcoming game he out of nowhere blabbered that Vicki dumped him. I was shocked in the least, because that was nowhere near the original. What was that all about?

Later I found out, when I came back to the Gilbert's house that Matt's sister had also got rid of Jeremy. She broke up with both of them? The hell? The brat was whining to Beluga, without him knowing I was watching him do it from the door of his bedroom. He was saying something about going out of his way to get Vicki pills or of the sort and I would have found it amusing how he was talking so heatedly to the dog that was nowhere near listening to him, but the kid was actually pretty bummed out about this.

"I need to get Beluga to the doctor." I decided that this was enough and made my presence known. Jeremy of course became scarlet red and pretended that he wasn't using a three-month old dog as a psychiatrist.

"Yeah, okay." he agreed and I went and whisked the white Samoyed from the floor where he was chewing on a toy.

"You wanna come with me?" I proposed and for the life of me I didn't know why I was asking to spend more time with the annoying boy, but none the less went along with it. Jeremy searched my face for...the hell if I knew and finally nodded.

Ten minutes later, we were in the car, and it would have been very awkward if it wasn't for Beluga who was making sound from his cage in the back seat.

"Did...did Vicki chose Tyler?" out of nowhere Jeremy asked me. I spared him a glance. He was even more uncomfortable to ask me this question then I was to answer it.

"No, she dumped him too." the boy winced at how blunt I was with the knowledge that I had heard him talking to Beluga back in the house. But why hide it?

"I thought that...she...would go to him, after...you know...you heard it." God! Wasn't he supposed to talk about this with Elena? She was his sister!

Oh, wait! I was supposedly too.

Shit.

"Whatever you think about Tyler, Jeremy, he was played by the same girl as you. Yes, you two are way different and the situations are too, but in the end of the day you both have been burned by Matt's sister. He might not show it, but I'm fairly certain that if Lockwood had a dog, he would be whining to him as well." I teased and it got me the reaction I wanted. Jeremy laughed but then stopped at realizing that I was making a dig at him too.

"Hey! I wasn't, I didn't..."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever." I waved him of and from my peripheral sight, I saw him rolling his eyes. Brat. He then became quiet and I knew he was mulling over what I told him. In the show, Jeremy and Tyler became friends. Granted it was way in the series, but it happened. So why not just speed it up? It might help me with getting rid of all those awkward situations where this kid was coming to me to listen to his problems. Jeremy clearly missed how I sucked at giving him love advice, and still kept on putting me in that position.

Hello! Elena was literary begging for him to open up to her!

After the doctor's appointment, we went to the park and there Jeremy started talking to a girl that was walking her shepherd dog. No it wasn't Anna, she was called Lucy and she was more than obviously attracted to him. The Gilbert kid was oblivious as I expected him to be and was still very hung up on the break up with his no-girlfriend-but-sort-of-girlfriend Vicki. Thankfully Lucy wasn't fazed by the lack of responses from him and kept on perusing.

I liked her. She got spunk.

If she got to Jeremy, he might not be so depressed and get himself in good hands. Not to mention, Anna wouldn't get to him. Now about this little annoying vampire... I never liked her. Yes, she did all she did in the show to get her mother out of the tomb and end up really liking Jeremy, but in the end of the day she did more damage than good. Let's be honest, the only thing she would be of any use to my plans is to say to Damon that Katherine was never locked in and knew about him looking for a way to get her out. This was the push he needed to realize that she didn't give any crap about him. It made him stop looking for her.

Yes, I wanted for the raven vampire to open the tomb so he could see for himself that Katherine wasn't there. But Pearl or any of the rest couldn't get out. Why? Simple, if they don't then Stefan won't be abducted and he won't go on a blood binge. Pearl won't cause problems and the device that incapacitated all the vampires at the festival won't even be found. John won't come to town and a lot of drama would be avoided.

But like that, Elena would never find out that she was adopted, Damon would still be oblivious about the existence of werewolves. And it was because of all those problems that the brothers became closer and started to heal their bond. To tell the truth that was maybe my main goal while being here. For me the bond between siblings was the purest and strongest one and I wished for Damon and Stefan to remember that. So I would make them.

Ah, so much to think over...

I had received a dozens of text from both Bonnie and Elena. While I was at the park, being totally ignored by Jeremy and his company, Stefan had finally arrived at the gathering. Funny. I would have missed it all together if the last message from Elena didn't make me jump from where I sat on the bench.

 _'Vicki came to talk with you, she brought Damon.'_

Okay, what in the actual fuck? I was certain that Vicki Donovan didn't have anything to say to me, but the more I thought about this, the more I realized that now that Caroline was not an option, the Salvatore needed a new blood bag, he found it in the big sister of Matt. He must have compelled her to break up with my bff and my presumed brother, maybe even came up with a reason why she would want to speak with me. The best way to find out was to go along with it.

And I did.

Saying a quick goodbye to the couple and Beluga, I was sure as hell not getting the puppy anywhere close to the two brothers at the moment, I drove to the Gilbert's house. Parking I saw the Camaro, Damon was so famous and fond of. I willed myself not to go there and add vervain to the coffee that Damon was drinking, or better yet in the drink that Vicki was having.

How dare he change my plot!

Nothing of this happened in the show and the unknown scared the crap out of me. But then again, what did I expect? I was changing stuff; it was bound to happen. Taking one last calming breath I walked in. There in the living room, just like in the episode, with the exception that it was Vicki and not Caroline, sat the main characters.

What did I get myself in to? I groaned and thought it wasn't so obvious that I didn't want to be here, but both vampires caught me and while they both looked at me questioningly with a dose of curiosity, one still was more amused then the other. Guess who?

"Adelle!" Bonnie jumped from her sitting position, the way she regarded me like a saviour, indicated that this whole thing was as much awkward to her as it was for me. Good. You should all suffer!

"Am I interrupting something?" I played innocent and the glare that Elena send me, told me that she wasn't bullshitted.

"No, but you are late." Yes, I know dear out of fictional world sis! Tell me something I don't know.

"Hey, Addie!" Addie? From when are Vicki and I on nickname bases? "I hope you don't mind that we crashed your party. But I came to thank you for helping me last night." Yep, she was definitely compelled.

"And I decided to tag along," smirked Damon. "It's good to see you again, Adelle." Elena and Bonnie both send me questioning looks. Oh they didn't know I have met the second brother. Surprise!

"You've met?" asked Elena and before I could say anything, the raven hair nuisance beat me to it. Tch.

"Oh, yes! Twice actually. But yesterday, we left it on a quick note, something about a dog?" He pretended to look around, he already knew that Beluga wasn't here.

"Hey, where is Beluga?" Asked my sister when she finally realized that the puppy was not with me. I rolled my eyes and sat next to the available seat with Stefan. He smiled at me gently and Damon sent us an unreadable look that quickly transformed in a mocking smile.

"Jeremy." Was my one worded respond, as I pretended to be oblivious to the glare down between the brothers. "So what did I miss?"

"We were just talking about Stefan making it to the team," grinned Elena.

"And how, Lena here should quit cheer leading." I ah-ed and seeing that I wasn't one bit shocked Stefan asked me.

"You don't look surprised?" I shrugged and it was on the tip of my tongue to say that I doubt anything that was going to happen would ever really surprise me. I have watched you all on the TV, for God sakes!

"She looked miserable in practice, and knowing her she only did it because she wanted to have something from her life before the incident. But things change, why hold back?" I gave my piece of mind, only second later realizing that I have pretty much summed the entire conversation between the doppelganger and the blue eyed vampire. From the surprised looks on both their faces I was right to assume that.

"Funny. I told your sister the same thing." said Damon and I had the feeling that just like from the moment I walked in his entire attention would never leave me. What was up with the staring? Was my hair that striking?

"Great minds think alike." I joked and he chuckled in retaliation sending a quick wink at the stiff Stefan next to me. Was he proving a point or something? Like seriously, Beluga was the dog in the house, but those two were the ones playing pissing contest.

"Adelle, you don't look like a cheerleader to me." continued Damon, totally ignoring Vicki that was in his lap and Bonnie that looked like she wanted to bolt out of the room. Elena was observing our interaction with interest but still kept quiet. Why was I in the spot light here!?

"That's because she isn't." said Stefan just before I could. Geez. Was his second name Adelle or something? Why would he speak instead of me?

"Ah. Then what is it that you like to do?" asked the older Salvatore, that ignored the warning tone in his brother's voice.

"I like photography." A spark shown in his blue irises and I knew he was already aware of my answer.

"Really? It suits you. So that was why you took a photo of me and Stefan last night?" Elena gasped and looked at me. I rolled my eyes. So what?

"I'm sorry about that! Adelle, never leaves the house without her camera and she has the habit of photographing people without their permission!" Dear sister accused me and I pretended to be offended but in reality I did really do that.

Again. So what?

"Oh, it's not a problem." Stefan defended me and Damon chuckled.

"I agree with my brother, it's just that we are not one of those people that take photos often," smirked the vampire.

I bet you don't. Being all hundred and something years old.

Better keep it low profile, pal.

Stefan looked uncomfortable because he knew what his bro was hinting on and I was from the looks of it the only one apart from him that knew about it. Being in the loop, and no one realizing it, had its perks.

There was an awkward pause and before I knew it the raven haired Salvatore was talking about the death of the Gilbert's parents, never missing an opportunity to make Stefan more uncomfortable, saying that they both had seen so many of their close ones passing away. Hint. Vampires. Hint. A jab at the blood addiction of his brother and a mention of Katherine later, I knew that Elena was on board with everyone's desire, except for Damon, to call it a night.

* * *

The next few days, things went pretty much like they did in the show. Jeremy and Tyler had a fight. Stefan stopped it which resulted in him getting injured and while Elena was frantically looking for the cut, I was checking on the two stupid boys that beat each other just for the heck of it. By now they knew that Vicki dumped them for Damon and instead of getting closer as they now hated her and the vampire with vigour they took out their frustration on each other. I was in the middle of lecturing them on how stupid they were, when I made the mistake of glancing at Elena's who was still not believing that Stefan was fine. He on the other hand was staring right back at me, and had a small gentle smile that almost made me jump from my stance. Embarrassed I turned quickly around and kept on reprimanding the idiots.

Elena, now being more centred on her family, instead of Stefan, as it came out that they were not going out, took Jeremy home. Of course the vampire made an appearance, when he killed Tanner. The game was stopped and I didn't see any of the brothers till two days later.

I had a talk with Tyler, because let's face it he was more likely to hear reason, and made him go and talk with Jeremy. Don't know how it exactly went but after that they were both more at ease and when they saw each other no glares were sent towards the other.

Carol Lockwood came the day before the exhibition of the founding families' heritages, asking for the Gilbert watch. This time Elena didn't freak out and accuse her brother of stealing it. I knew that because the council couldn't get their hands on it they would send Jenna's ex to look for it. Ah that guy was a pain in the ass.

What changed was that for the event, Elena was going with Bonnie, Jeremy was bringing the Lucy girl and Caroline had a date of her own. Suddenly I was alone and was about to tag along with the witch and my presumed sister if it wasn't for the night before the fete. I was lounging on the sofa in the living room. Beluga in my lap and was watching TV, when someone rang on the front door. My puppy sprang up immediately and barked like there stood the devil himself. He was close, because when I opened the door, Stefan waited on the other side.

"Stefan? What are you doing here?" I asked.

"Adelle. Hi." He smiled at me and I was surprised by how happy he looked to see me. Then he glanced down and saw Beluga crouched before me in a threatening stance. The puppy knew he was not human and was not letting him near me. "Oh, is that Beluga?" he asked while watching the dog carefully. The vampire probably was aware that dogs weren't fond of him, or his kind.

"I'll bring Elena." I ignored his question and took a step back but then his eyes snapped to me and I froze in place.

"No. I'm here to speak with you, actually?" Okay... When he understood that I was not going to help him out here, he shuffled a little, like he was awkward in his own skin. Wait. Was he nervous? "I was wandering if you would like to go with me to the Heritage ball tomorrow?" I stood there shocked into a silence. What? He saw how surprised I was by his words and quickly continued. "As friends." I ah-ed and finally answered.

"Elena said no, because she is going with Bonnie, right?" his eyes widened and his head shook vigorously.

"What? No. I never planned on taking her." Is he joking? Of course he was! But if he wasn't lying, then he never really did ask her because she would have accepted. Right? Even if it was under the pretext of going as friends.

"There is no need to hide it, Stefan, I know that you like Elena."

"I... it's not like that." I nodded but none the less didn't buy it and he knew. "At first I wanted to get to know her because she … reminded me of someone." Hint. Katherine. Hint. "But she wasn't anything like her and I was glad. We are friends now...I don't..."

"You know that she is not ready. That she is looking to repair her family first before diving in a relationship." He nodded. "But that still shows that you are just ready to wait for her." come on Stefan! Just admit it already so we can go past this!

"I might have thought that she meant more to me that that, but then..." he stared at me. Eyes heated. Okay, I felt a blush forming on my cheeks. What the hell? "I saw that we were better of as friends. Elena is an amazing girl." I decided to not ask any more questions, because I felt like I was far from ready to know the answer to them.

"Can you pick me up at around five?" A big smile graced his face.

"I'll be here." I nodded and was ready to close the door, feeling way out of place. But he lingered there, probably wanting to say something more. Beluga, of course, sensed that I was way over with this interaction, barked at the vampire and took a step closer to him. Stefan chuckled amused by the protective white fur ball in front of me and bid me a good night.

That was something I didn't expect.

When Bonnie, Care and Elena found out with whom I was going, I quickly shut any hints that it was anything but two friends keeping company on a boring event. Surprisingly apart from the momentary first shocked reaction of the doppelganger, she didn't seem to mind. Maybe she did actually listen to me and payed more attention to herself then boy drama.

In order to celebrate the white hair, I decided to wear a white dress that went just above my knees and had a flow to it. The material was light and even if it was far from what I usually liked, the neck line accentuated my collarbones and neck. I didn't have any accessory apart from my vervain necklace and I did a smoky eye with an eyeliner on top that made my blue eyes even more visible. Adding the deep red lips, I think that I did a good job.

Back at my world I never got the chance to dress up. My family was pretty chill and we were never over concerned about those mandatory details. I just imagined my sister coming in the room, giving me once over, saying something sarcastic about if I was sure that this would do and just before I would get all nervous and start changing she would laugh, throw a wink and would exit murmuring that I looked pretty. A sad smile graced my face as I was once again reminded of the reality of the situation. While I was here playing master schemer, out there my family was probably considering me dead.

Good job, Addie.

"Adelle?" my attention snapped to Elena that looked at me curiously, certainly knowing that I had spaced out. "Stefan is downstairs." She informed me and I nodded. Time to face the music. Before the doppelganger disappeared, she grinned at me and said. "You look so beautiful, Addie." A pang struck my heart. Those were not the right words.

Willing myself to hold back the tears, I faked a smile and thanked her. When she was gone, I composed myself as much as I could, then patted down the invisible wrinkles on the dress and stepped out of my bed room. I slowly walked down the staircase, minding the black heels I chose to wear. I never was a graceful person, true I never fell, but that didn't stop the universe from giving me many possibilities to try to. As I was looking down at my feet, I didn't notice Stefan waiting in the living room. Just when I was safely on my last step did I lift my head and was more than surprised by the gorgeous man standing in front of me.

The black suit he wore really only accentuated just how handsome he was, and even though I have seen him dressed like that in the series, in person the vampire was even more jaw dropping. These Salvatore's were just too sinful.

"Stefan..." I smiled uncertain about the code of those kind of events. Told you I never got any opportunity like this at my world. "You look good." he kept silent and only then did I see how his eyes travelled slowly up and down my body. His heated gaze made me feel slightly uncomfortable and I couldn't say that it was something bad. I was just never used to being stared at like that. "Uhm..." I cleared my throat, more for the sake of the Sahara that magically transformed in my mouth. Was it hot in here?

Oh my God, I was blushing!

"You look beautiful, Adelle." The vampire finally answered and I wished he didn't because his voice had gone down a notch or too, making it sound deeper and sexier.

"Well, I tried." I tried to brush it off and turn the whole interaction in to a safe zone. Stefan probably got the hint as a smile graced his frighteningly serious face and extended his hand towards me. I hesitantly put mine in his and an electric shock went all over my body. I barely held back a shiver as I peered at the Salvatore next to me to see if he felt it to.

He was already looking at me.

"You ready to go?" He asked and I nodded, not trusting my voice.

It felt so strange to touch him. It was surprisingly the first direct contact that I had with the vampire. I was amazed by the sudden disappointment that I felt for a fleeting moment when we broke apart as we got in the car. On our way to the Lockwood mention we talked about random things as I found his preferences and dislikes in many areas. I knew all about his past and supernatural nature, but tonight I got to see the human too. In the show they never said anything about it then the most obvious ones and it thrilled me to be able to have a glimpse. It scared me that the more time I spend with him, the more I would see Stefan Salvatore as more than a fictional character. Why? Because I knew myself and I was certain that I would get these feelings, these emotions for him that would exceed way past a crush on a celebrity.

When we entered the mansion I had to give it to Stefan, he didn't even for a second look nervous when we waited for the Lockwood's to invite us in. I as every other fan girl needed a few moments to process how beautiful their home is but still managed not to out myself by saying something like 'oh here is the terrace where Damon snapped John's neck' and 'or this one from where he threw Kol's body!'. I deserved a pat on my back.

Really.

As a few people that I had no idea who they were greeted me, I tried to keep face and pretend that I was used to this. The truth? I wanted to be anywhere else but here. Maybe I wasn't pretending so well because from time to time Stefan would send me a concerned look.

"Are you okay?" he asked and I nodded but the vampire didn't believe me. "Adelle..." I sighed, looking around and saw Elena and Bonnie chatting up with Care and the boy she came with.

"Look! Let's go say hello." I changed the topic and started walking towards them. The Salvatore grabbed me before I could take a second step their way. He pulled me out of the grand room and before I knew it we were in the heritage display. When the vampire finally let go of me, he had that determined look on his face that made me step back a little.

"Adelle, I know that we haven't know each other for long but..." he searched for the right words. "If something is troubling you, you can be sure that I would do anything to make you feel better." he looked so sincere that it surprised me to find this affection directed towards me. "Look, I admit, maybe I had pulled the accompany-me-to-the-party-card-only-as-friends, but don't let that fool you, I want to know more about you and..." he stepped closer. "I would like to..."

I didn't know what he was going to say next, because Stefan was interrupted by the appearance of his one and only brother.

"Oh, hello there, I didn't know you two were here." the vampire lied as he stepped into the room, Tina Fell on his hand who send me a glare.

"Adelle, it's good to see you." she smiled falsely. I wasn't here for more than a week, and this girl hated me. Don't know why, don't care really.

"Tina, hi, how are you?" I pretended to be interested as I played oblivious to the tension sizzling around us, as the Salvatore's just couldn't hold it together. Stefan was tensed up and he had stepped closer to me, even going as far as to put his hand on the small of my back. Damon on the other hand was smirking and eying his brother with amusement. He knew very well how he was able to push Stefan's buttons.

"Good, thank you. Damon here asked me to come with him tonight, and how could I say no, he is so charming, isn't he?" yeah let's see if you would think that when he drinks you dry. I forced a laugh and that didn't go unnoticed by the blue eyed man. He tilted his head and looked contemplating over something. Then his eyes slid down my body and I felt those tingles like I did when Stefan did the exact same thing in the house less than an hour ago.

Geez. Those two.

Then I noticed two things, first Tina was wearing a scarf, Damon was most certainly having his fill with this one. And two I just noticed the dashing suit Damon had on. Be still my heart! I wanted to shout but didn't need both vampires knowing how affected I was by their sexiness. And let me tell you, I was! Damon Salvatore looked delicious!

"You look stunning, Adelle." he said and I tucked a strand of white hair behind my ear. I was not used to being complimented.

"Thank you, Damon." Tina looked at her date then at me.

"Do you know each other?" she asked. Didn't she already say that he invited her here...she said it like she was aware of this already...oh he compelled her. Wait...

"Damon, I thought you would be here with Vicki?" I asked.

"Vicki? Vicki Donovan? The druggie? Eeeew?" exclaimed Tina but we all ignored her.

"We didn't work out, we were too different for each other and I didn't see it going anywhere in the long run." Answered Damon, now his eyes finally back on my face. Tch. I had to later check on Matt and see if his sis was … for the better word – alive!

"We wouldn't want to hold you back..." started Stefan, clearly wanting to be anywhere but near his brother.

"Oh, don't worry, we were just looking around." smirked Damon.

"He doesn't want to dance with me." pouted Tina and I barely held back an eye roll. Was I going to re-enact the scene where the compelled girl gets Stefan out of the room so the older brother could sugar coat the unsuspecting and innocent Elena? Yeah well, I was not her.

"Only a lesser man would deny his date a chance for a dance." I said as I saw that the raven hair devil was going to say his piece in the story. The silence that fall onto us made me want to cackle. No one expected that, did they? Stefan had a small amused smile, while Damon looked like someone just beat him at his own game. He was staring at me like he was seeing me for the first time and I was afraid that the spark I saw there didn't mean anything good...for me.

"Oh, I assure you, Adelle, I share your opinion on the matter, but sadly I don't feel so good today." he lied once again and this time I did roll my eyes, succeeding in making him chuckle a little. I looked at Stefan and he was staring at me with an unreadable expression. Time to change the topic.

"I'm sure that one of you has a good explanation as to why your names are written in a document dating back for more than hundred and fifty years." I shrugged in the direction of the wall next to us and both brothers stared at it.

"That is..." Stefan started but Damon cut him off.

"The original Salvatore brothers, tragic story actually." And once again the sinister gleam in his blue eyes warned me that he was going to steer trouble.

"I'm sure that we don't want to bore Adelle with that." Did he intentionally ignore Tina's presence or did he totally forgot she was here?

"You know what?" I asked. They both looked at me and it made my skin burn a little by how whenever I spoke they always gave me their undivided attention. "It's none of my business, if one of you would like to share it with me okay, but I don't want to make you do it and thus creating a tension even stronger between you two then it already is." I spoke to them. Stefan smiled at me gently and I felt his hand move up and down just a tiny bit, caressing my skin. He never moved it from my back. Damon on the other hand once again was analysing me.

"So you are not even a bit curious?" he asked, watching my reaction closely.

"Everyone has secrets, Damon. I won't pry in yours." I spared them both a look. "If you don't pry in mine." Maybe I shouldn't have said that, because knowing both of them that made them even more curious. But what can I say? I liked it.

Never said I was a good person.

Stefan was going to say something, but I saw Elena walk past the corridor. This was my chance.

"Elena!" I waved and she stopped, when she saw me the doppelganger started to walk towards us. Perfect. "I'll leave you guys with her, I'm sure that both of you would like that." Ignoring the stunned look on the blond vampire and the amused but slightly confused stare from Damon, I continued. "I'm certain that she would love to hear you two bickering over exes and playing pissing contest all you want."

Burn!

"Adelle, what...?" Stefan was at a loss of words, and the copy of their past lover was coming closer.

"Both of you, whatever is it that is going on between you two, it sure can't be stronger than the bond of siblings. If I'm right." of course I am. "This woman that played you both and then made you hate each other is not worth it. I would die for my sister." Not this one. "So if you do let the thing hunt you for ever, if it makes you act like brats, then you are not the men I thought you were." there! Food for thought.

Now they were both shocked by my words, I really expected from Damon to lash out at me, but he kept staring at me, blue eyes dark, but not from rage. It was something completely different. Stefan was pretty much the same and I knew that I had to get out of here. I send a quick grin to Tina, who was catching flies with her open mouth and it was comical, really.

"Hey guys!" greeted Elena and she send me a questioning look when she too realized the state that the Salvatore's were in right now, luckily they composed themselves immediately.

"I will talk to you, later." I smiled at them all and quickly took my chance to get the hell away from there. Now those two could talk Elena's ears off, for all they wanted.

If I had turned, I would have saw the two men, that never left me out of their sight for the rest of the evening. I would have saw the warning bells that told me that the look I saw in both their eyes was not only awe but admiration too. That for Damon especially spoke volumes. And I would have definitely not missed the obvious questions that swirled in both brothers of who exactly was Adelle Gilbert, and was it possible for her to catch both their attention so quickly and completely? Good thing I didn't turned because being ignorant was sometimes better.

I walked around the main room and talked for a minute with Jeremy and his friend Lucy, I even saw Jenna with Logan Fell, she was biting his head off and I stayed there for the show just because on TV it was amusing but in reality it was even better. Poor guy, he might be a cheater but in the end he would end up dying...twice. Oh...well, I really didn't care about him. Just then I saw Bonnie entering the staff room and I instantly knew what was going to happen, so I went after her and stayed quiet till she lit up all the candles, and man was it a cool experience.

"So you really are a witch?" I showed myself, and the young Bennett jumped in surprise. She turned towards me and her expression was of a scared girl. I felt bad for her. She shouldn't be scared of her powers; she should be proud.

"Adelle...I..."

"Look, I won't tell anyone, as I told you the last time we spoke about this, I think it's amazing and you should feel like a real badass."

"So you are not...?"

"Afraid? Freaked out?" I helped and she nodded. "No, I'm not. I'm happy that you are finally finding the answers you were looking for." I smiled gently and she let out a sigh returning the gesture.

"I listened to you, I talked to Grams and she showed me. First I was so shocked, you know? Those stuff happen only on TV." yeah till you enter in one, that is. "But when she started to teach me...I felt such security and control over myself, that I asked myself why was I afraid in the first place?" she told me. Yeah...that didn't happen in the show, it was a good idea to push her so Bonnie could start practicing earlier.

"I'm glad to hear that, Bonnie." she nodded.

"Why don't you look surprised about all of this?" she asked and I thought over what should I tell her.

"I found the family journals a while ago, in there I read about a woman...Emily Bennett?"

"She is my ancestor!" exclaimed Bonnie.

"Yeah...their it was said that she possessed powers and I pieced it together that she was your relative and that maybe you weren't as crazy as you thought out to be."

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"Were you going to believe it if I did?" she was silent for a moment but then shook her head. "You had to find it for yourself, Bonnie."

"I... thank you." she said. "For not only encouraging me but also for not freaking out." we laughed after that and the tension left her body.

"If I were you I would ask your Grams to tell you everything." I winked.

"Do you know something else?" the witch asked me in surprise but I only shrugged.

"Who knows." I smiled cheekily.

"Addie! Don't be like that!" I wasn't going to tell her more so I made my quick escape when a waiter came in. At least one thing didn't change in this episode.

I kept on walking around and I even avoided Stefan that from the looks of it was searching for me. Tough luck, buddy. Before I knew it I was walking in a different hall and heard shouting. Out of a room a second later, stormed out very angrily, the Mayor. What was that all about? I curiously peered in the slightly opened door and saw Tyler raging in there pushing stuff and breaking glasses. When I thought about it, tomorrow was the full moon, that explained why a dormant wolf was hardly containing his anger.

I felt bad about him, for the short time we got to know each other, I really did consider him a friend so even if I knew that what I was about to do was pretty dangerous I went in.

"Adelle? I... not now! I...my father was here and we..." he growled a little.

"Tyler, look at me." he didn't, he was still walking back and forth like a caged animal. So I stepped closer. "Tyler." he kept on ignoring me. "Tyler!"

"What!?" he roared and I jumped in a surprise. Oh, okay. Stay calm. His breathing was ragged, his eyes unfocussed, man was he angry. As I was a stupid person … not really, but at the moment I was acting like one...I stepped right in his path, making him falter in his movements. Before he could continue shouting at me I placed both of my hand on his shoulders.

"Tyler, listen to me carefully, whatever that douche bag told you it's not true! You can't let him get under your skin, he is not worth it!" he stared at me, finally hearing me. "Bastards like him don't appreciate the good in their lives! And you Tyler Lockwood, may be an ass most of the time, but you are the most loyal friend I could ask for, you are smart and sporty, and yes arrogant too, but you are kind to those that deserve it, so whatever idiocy he told you, you must remember that it is far from the truth. Do you understand?" he nodded, calming down bit by bit and smiling a little. "I didn't catch that."

"Yeah, I do." he chuckled. "I'm sorry that I lost my nerve with you, but he just makes me so angry..." he tried to explain. I shook my head and stepped back.

"Don't mention it, Tyler. You don't need to explain yourself to your friends." I smiled and he returned it. "You want to pay him back?" I asked.

"What do you have in mind?" he questioned and sent me an amused look when a sinister smile took over my face.

"We can trash his office." I waved around. Indeed, we were in the Mayor's office. I never liked the dude, so why not play a prank on him? Tyler laughed hard at my proposal.

"The hell? Adelle Gilbert breaking someone's else property?" he grinned and I winked in retaliation. "Hell yeah, we can!" I giggled at how hipped up he was about that and we got to work. As I was pushing some of the books from the big shelf, Tyler was pouring his father's pricy scotch into the plants next to the desk. When I turned my attention on the papers there I started to mess with them and we were both laughing like some kids, but it definitely lifted his mood up. Out of nowhere he pulled away a painting that stood behind the chair and there I saw a safe. Oh...my...was this the same safe that held...oh my GOD! I froze in place and watched silently as the future wolf put in the password.

"He doesn't know that I have his code." Tyler informed me. "Never looked what he had in it, knowing how angry he would get, but as we are doing that, why not go all the way, yeah?" he looked at me over his shoulder, hand on the handle. And as he was about to pull, there was a knock on the door.

"Tyler?" it was Carol.

"Shoot!" he hissed. "I will get rid of mom, you stay quiet." he said and I only nodded. He walked over to the door and slowly opened it only enough to go out. This was my chance. If Tyler never knew what was in the safe, he must have opened it for the first time after the death of the Mayor. I ran towards it and opened it, I was fast as I could. Inside there were three levels, two with some documents and money and one with a big box. I lifted the lid up and there I saw probably Carol's jewellery. It was a mess! I was frantic as I searched for one thing in particular as I listened carefully as Tyler and his mother spoke. There were a few pouches and I opened one after the other. A ring. A ring. A coin. BINGO.

At the very last one, pushed far far in the back, totally forgotten from the world I found it.

The moon stone.

I took it, closed the box, then the safe and returned to my previous place behind the desk. Just as I put the magical item in my bag, the door flew open and Tyler walked in.

"All clear!" he grinned and I laughed. "Okay where were we?" he opened the safe and started to look at it. "What...there is nothing interesting in here..." he pouted almost. Man... Tyler how far from the truth you were.

We stayed for a few more minutes then left the room.

"My father will go mental when he sees it." the wolf chuckled and I bumped my fist in his shoulder.

"He did it to himself."

"Thank you, Ad, for...well you know..." Tyler waved around a little awkward and I saved him from showing what a sap he was in reality.

"Don't mention it, Ty." I grinned.

As he went to speak to some of his team mates I couldn't hold back the hysterical laugh. I got the moon stone! I got the thing that Katherine was after. I. Got. It! I felt so giddy and a wave of energy took over my body. The adrenalin and the feeling of accomplishment was so prominent that I was bouncing on my feet. Just then I saw both Salvatore's not having a very friendly talk and I just couldn't help myself but to skip over to them on the veranda they were currently alone on. Was that the back yard? Oh wow, the lake was even more beautiful then I remembered it.

"Stef!" I grinned. "Day!" both of them were now watching me as I came to stand in front of them whatever anger there was before it was replaced by amusement in both of them as they saw me bounce on and off on my feet.

"Day?" asked Damon, quirking a brow.

"Shhh!" I was so hyped that I couldn't hold back my childish behaviour. "I'm in good mood, don't ruin it with your analytical brain that just can't stop working. Don't you get it, Damon Salvatore? No matter how hard you may try you won't understand me until I allow you to!" I grinned and even laughed by how surprised he was from my words.

"Adelle, did you drink something?" asked Stefan that was in the same time concerned but amused too. I shook my head and tutted like a mother would do to her child.

"Stefan Salvatore! You brood too much!" I tapped my finger on his forehead that was scrunched a bit with lines, when they disappeared I grinned again. "A lot better!" Damon laughed right out and I winked in his direction.

"So why are you so..." the younger vampire tried to understand and I spun on my heels once, squealing at how I managed to do that.

"Did you see that!?" I asked both man and they nodded, playing along with my crazy self. "I was awesome, right?"

"Yeah, you were." grinned Damon and I laughed in giddiness.

"And for your information, Salvatore's I am so energetic because I come from the Mayor's office which I trashed completely. Don't you two feel giddy, when you do something naughty?" I asked and in returned Stefan looked shocked while Damon was more or less holding back a laugh.

"You did what? Adelle why would you...?" asked the younger one out of the two.

"Why not brother?" smirked Damon and clapped his hands at me. "I must admit, Adelle, I didn't know you had it in you." I rolled my eyes.

"That's because, Damon, you don't know anything about me, really." I said seriously, before I skipped past them, towards the direction of the lake, for a moment I paused and looked at them over my shoulder. They were both staring at me with eyes full with different emotions. Normally I would back off, the intensity I saw of whatever there was would have scared me, but I. Had. The. Stone. I felt unstoppable!

"He was an ass to his son, no child should ever feel inferior because his father can't realize how amazing even if a little different they are." I spoke, my voice strangely soft and I looked at them. Pausing just a bit more on Damon, thinking about his father and how he hated his older son. His eyes went a bit wide just for a fraction of a second but I saw it and smiled a little.

"Now if you will excuse me, gentlemen!" I said and started to walk once more.

"Where are you going?" asked the raven haired vampire.

"To the lake of course." I answered like it was obvious without turning around or stopping.

Honestly, I was so happy at the moment, that I didn't even care if they followed me or not. I just felt so adventurous tonight. The sadness of not being with my real family put in the back of my mind for the time. When I got there I took off my heels and stepped closer to the water.

"Are you really thinking of going in there?" surprised me the voice of Stefan and when I turned back I saw both brothers standing a few feet away from me. I shrugged and grinned.

"Not my problem, that both of you are lacking the sense of adventure tonight." I answered and ignored the gleam of mischief in the blue eyes of Damon.

I was happy that my dress wasn't long, so I didn't have to worry about it. The feeling of the cold water was amazing and I didn't go deeper then to where it stood over my ankles. The moon was almost full and was illuminating the pond.

"Isn't it beautiful?" I asked the Salvatore's as I finally turned completely towards them. I twirled once, then twice, giggling at how amazing it felt. When my attention was back on the brothers, Damon was leaning on the tree there, hands in his pockets and when we locked eyes, I let my tongue show and made a face. The corners of his mouth turned slowly up, the left before the right, turning the small smile in to a crook one, then he chuckled gently and slowly averted his face a little like he was embarrassed to show it. Then I ran my eyes towards Stefan, he was standing a meter away from Damon, his arms folded in front of his chest as he wore an easy smile on his face. His head was titled a bit and he was staring at me. I winked at him grinning a bit too.

"It's breathtaking." he said, but his green green eyes never left mine and I had the feeling he wasn't speaking about the lake or the moon.

"For once I agree with you brother." said Damon, he too gazing at me and both Stefan and I turned towards the older vampire. The brothers had a mini stare down but I was just too giddy to try and analyse it at the moment.

"You know what my sister once said to me?"

"Elena?" asked Stefan. I paused for a second. No not her. I wanted to tell them but I didn't. I never confirmed his question as I continued, looking from one brother to another.

"No matter what happens between us- I might hate you, you might want to never see me again, we might distance ourselves to such extend that when we meet again we might not recognize the person before us- it won't matter, because no negative feeling or devastating situation could be strong enough to break the bond between siblings." I shared with them a tiny piece of me and they seemed to get that because they listened to every word I said like it was my last one.

"I asked her then, why would she ever hate me? She is my big sister I always looked up to her, always wanted to be her, she protected me, guided me, what could I ever do to gain her hater and she to make me want to never see her again?" I looked away for a moment, the memory burned so deeply in my mind that even if I forgot everything else on this earth I would still carry it with me. "Because we are what we are, she said, and we are bound to make mistakes, to hurt each other, because that's what we do."

There was a silence after, both men never letting their gazes fall away from me. I slowly felt the high from the prank dissipate, and knowing that I should probably get out of the cold water soon if I didn't want to get sick, I stepped out and put back on my heels. Now I prayed to God I would not fall, as it felt all slippery.

"Adelle!" My head snapped in the direction of the mansion. There stood Elena, waving at me. "I'm going home; do you want a ride?" she asked. I glanced back at Stefan and Damon as they had now moved to both my sides. A step away from me. Okay...

"Your favourite girl is looking for me, guys, and I think that I should be going home." I smiled at them and ignored the questioning looks from the two. I stepped towards the doppelganger, took two steps, paused and looked back, they were still where I saw them last. "Have a good night. Thank you for keeping me company." I smiled gently at both and walked away.

As we were in the car, Elena driving, me next to her, she told me about her night and I did about mine, skipping pretty much everything that was interesting.

"I think a mosquito bit me while I waited for you to get your ass back to the car," complained my outer dimensional not-really-sister-sister as she scratched her exposed shoulder. I spared her a glance and was about to say some sarcastic comment when I saw something. There around her neck. It was...there was...there wasn't a necklace.

"Elena where is your necklace?" I asked and she looked at me questioningly.

"Addie you know that I don't like to wear any, I never do, so why tonight?" I almost chocked on my own saliva.

Stefan didn't give her the vervain necklace?

What the actual FUCK?

Then my gears started turning. I shouldn't be worried right? I mean Elena was never compelled to do anything in the near future...oh shit, the night when Tanner was killed!

"You kissed Damon!?" I screeched and that must have surprised her because she yelped and swirled the car a little.

"Are you crazy! Don't shout at me when I'm driving, Adelle! And what the hell are you talking about?" She demanded.

"I... I mean...did you kiss Damon?"

"What? Why in the world would I do that? Yes, he is kind of hot and all, but he seems to be always saying things to intimidate me. And Stefan said that he was not good news." she elaborated. "Why would you think of such thing, Addie?" but I was no more listening her. In the show she was wearing the vervain necklace and Damon was unsuccessful with compelling her to kiss him, did he made her forget after that?

"At the night of the game, where were you?"

"I was near Caroline and Bonnie, even if I quit the team I was there to cheer them, then I got cold and went to get my jacket...Why are you asking me that Addie?" she was suspicious but maybe it was my serious face that made her continue. "Then I guess I took it and went back to the game, Jeremy was in a fight, I took him home and you know Tanner was killed by the lion after that..."

"You guess?" I pressed more.

"Well...yeah I think, I mean I had it with me when I was back on the bench." she explained. Elena was made to forget. He had compelled her. God. How didn't I managed to see that she wasn't wearing a necklace? And why the hell Stefan didn't give it to her? Yeah okay they were not dating and all, but she was still Elena freaking Gilbert, the doppelganger, the main character! Why was this changing so much? I haven't done anything. She was still the most important person here.

I had to start adding vervain in the coffee now too. At least now Jeremy was going to have it too. Who knows, if things were changing so much with my presence here, I had to be more careful and not only rely on events that happened in a show where I had no part in.

As I ignored the questioning stares from Elena, I thought of something else that didn't happen like it was supposed to.

Damon was never vervained by Stefan.

* * *

So as the changes started to envelop, I realized that for the moment I had no idea what was going to happen. For starters as Damon wasn't locked in the cell, he didn't get murderous and killed a whole group of druggies, Vicki wasn't abducted for his amusement and was never turned into a vampire. What is more, Elena never found the secret both brothers kept and was blissfully unaware of it. For the next few days, things were actually pretty tamed.

I was having my whole attention on the books I got from the library. I had ordered them from a few towns over so I could search on how I got here, or anything really. After school I would go take Beluga for a walk, while he played in the park I would read and then return the book. For now, I didn't find anything remotely close to what I needed, but I still was going strong and was determined for answers.

Call me selfish or whatever but that was the main reason I wanted to keep Bonnie's Grams alive. You see, she was an old witch and even if she couldn't help me, she could send me to someone that knew something. But for that I had to tell her the truth and I never trusted people, so I had to gain hers and to make sure that she would tell no one, before I did any of this. That's why Adelle Gilbert had to mingle with witches.

Yeah, I could have said, that I was planning on saving Sheila Bennett because of Bonnie, but that wasn't the truth, yes the little witch would get stronger faster with the guidance of her grandma and she would have no real reason to hate Damon and in the future Caroline, but as I said I was doing it for my own gain. Why lie about it?

I often saw Stefan in class, he was acting normal, bet when he didn't have an angry brother on the loose threatening to eat everybody, he could actually relax and have a somewhat normal experience.

I never liked his idea of getting rid of Damon. It was stupid and it never worked.

So I was glad that it never happened. But why? That was the question that plagued me a lot. Yes, whenever they were in each other presence I could always sense the tension, but they were actually acting like grown men.

Damon on the other hand I caught few times talking to the Sheriff, he was definitely trying to gain her trust, that's why I wasn't surprised when I saw Tina and Vicki not wearing scarves on their necks. He was drinking from blood bags. Smart guy.

Logan Fell on the other hand, wasn't. When the council couldn't get their hands on the compass like they wanted to, they send him do it. I knew that the day he was having lunch with Jenna, he would search Jeremy's room. This time however he would never find it. But that didn't stop me from being angry. I just got from school, and knew that the younger Gilbert was out with Lucy and Beluga, so the reporter would take advantage of that. While Jenna was cleaning the dishes waiting for her ex to came out of 'the bathroom' I went and talked to her.

"Jenna, I don't want to get in the middle of this but..." I started, pretending to look around to make sure the idiot wasn't near. That immediately got her attention and she stopped whatever she was doing.

"Adelle? When did you get home? What is it?" she asked. I paused faking uncertainty. "You can tell me, sweet heart."

"I got home a few minutes ago and when I was changing, I saw that Jeremy's door was opened, I knew he wasn't here so I went to close it but then I saw Logan Fell, going through his stuff." My dimensional aunt gasped.

"What? Why would he do that?"

"I don't want to make assumptions, Jenna, but I heard it a few times from some of Jeremy's ex-friends, that they were supplying a reporter and that he was paying very well." one more gasp came from her but I didn't stop there. "As you know, Jer, had stopped using as Lucy is an amazing influence on him, but Logan didn't know about that, maybe he was searching..." and just like that I got him where I wanted him to. Logan chose this unfortunate moment to come in and from the looks of it he didn't find anything.

Your bad luck wasn't going to end just yet, pal. I secretly smirked.

"Get out!" shouted Jenna, coming to stand in front of me like he was a monster and she was protecting me from him. Logan looked so shocked that I barely held back my laugh.

"Jenna what are you talking about..."

"If you don't get out of my house this moment, I will call the police, Fell, let's see how you will explain to them looking through someone else's property without permission! " the guy visibly paled. When he tried to say something she was already grabbing the phone. Man, Jenna was on fire! "Don't ever come near me or my kids ever again!" she threatened and soon he was gone.

I was doing a mini happy dance in my head. But then I looked at the Gilbert's aunt and she was sitting there on one of the bar stools, face painted in frustration and sadness, and I felt a small pang of guilt.

"He was a douche, Jenna." I tried to make her feel better.

"I know...it's just that he was so persuading, like he really wanted to get back together, but he only did it to get something out of it."

"Look, I know it hurts, but believe me when I say this." she stared at me. "You deserve so much better, Jenna, and I'm sure that you will find it, just be open for the possibility." Hint. Alaric. Hint.

"Thank you, Addie." she smiled and I knew that I couldn't do anything else. Time to get out of here.

As I went upstairs, I checked once more if all the things below the sofa were still there, they were with the addition of the moon stone.

As I unlocked my phone I saw the numerous photos that Caroline kept sending me. She hadn't convinced me to participate in the washing car fundraiser for Tanner's family and now was trying to tempt me with how many hot school mates were shirtless and what a great view I would have If I went.

Nope. No thank you.

On one photo, though I saw Matt chatting up with Bonnie and Stefan. My jaw almost dropped when I saw that the vampire was only wearing a white wife beater and all of his amazing muscles were on display. How was it fair that such people existed? Before I could start drooling over my phone Jeremy barged in with Beluga following him happy.

"Hurry up, Addie, you need to get Beluga to the doctor," the kid reprimanded me and I rolled my eyes at how bossy he was acting with me. So what? He got better, was over the Vicki drama and now was after Lucy, and yeah he stopped with the drugs because he was no longer around this crowd. I still could kick his ass for being a brat! Tche.

"Yeah, yeah, I know." I stood up, got dressed, took my bag and the leash for the Samoyed and we were out. As it has become a norm we three would distribute the taking care of the puppy. Both Gilbert's were more than happy with him and if I didn't know better, I would say that the white fur ball walking next to me was magical.

When we were done with the next shot that would protect the dog from any sicknesses, we were on our way to the library. I got a call of a new batch of books that I had ordered and I wanted to get them today. Just a street away from my destination I was met with the sight of Damon Salvatore talking sweetly with Liz Forbes. He was really set on getting his ass in the council. That made me remember Stefan's birthday...man was that one bad night.

I decided to ignore them and pretend they were not here, bur few feet away, the Sheriff got in her car, seemingly over with the little chat and sped away. The moment she was no longer there, Damon's attention was only on me. Ah those beautiful blue eyes, that stared at me with amusement.

"Adelle. What a surprise." he smirked. "I thought that you would be on this car wash my brother was so excited to go to." yeah I bet he was. I rolled my eyes and he chuckled at seeing that I didn't buy his shit.

"Hello to you too, Damon." That's when Beluga stepped in front of me and started to growl, protecting his owner. It would be very scary, in a year or so when the dog was almost as big as I was, but right now it was adorable.

"This must be the famous Beluga." The vampire smirked at the puppy, challenging him, he knew that dogs sensed vampires and the thought amused me greatly.

"You have to excuse my dog, Damon, but he isn't so fond of strangers." I smiled sweetly, and those blue irises were back staring at me, with the same interest they always held when their attention was on me. You can try, Salvatore, but you would never figure me out.

"So where are you going this fine afternoon, Miss Gilbert?" The vampire asked me and I held back the laugh that wanted to bubble out of me. How was it possible for one man to ooze so much sex appeal and make such expressions with his eyes and mouth? It was just too sinful, and damn it if he didn't know it!

"Didn't we go through that, Mister Salvatore, I stay out of your way if you have the courtesy to do the same for me." I grinned cheekily and resumed walking past him. I hadn't made more than two steps when he was by my side and kept walking like it was the most normal thing to do. "What are you doing Damon?" I quirked an eyebrow when I looked up at him. Not only was he making Beluga uncomfortable, not only was he so damn near me, not caring for personal space, but he was even taller than me and having the decency to look innocent.

Like that's possible.

"Oh, I'm just accompanying this young lady to her destination. You never know what might lurk in the shadows." Yes, you. The way he was smirking was so full of cheek that I couldn't hold back the laugh. He winked at me and turned his eyes to the front. "And you never said anything about me coming with you if I'm not asking any questions." Expect someone to find a loophole in something, and it will always be Damon.

"So Salvatore, how does it feel to suck up to the authorities?" I asked a moment later as we kept on walking next to each other. Beluga was far from happy. Damon faked being offended and if I didn't know his humour and secret I would have totally brought it.

"Why, Adelle, can't a representative member of your dear community show some manners to the police force that keeps our town so safe?" Ah this sarcasm, it was to die for, seriously! I rolled my eyes and scoffed he chuckled a little knowing that I wasn't buying it, but that I had still no interest in finding out.

Well, I knew already.

We soon came face to face with the library, in front of the entrance there was a bench and when we got near it I stopped. Damon looked at me questioningly.

"What's so secret about a library?" I grinned and shrugged playing oblivious, his eyes narrowed as he observed me, but I had no intention of sharing anything.

"Hold Beluga for me, would you?" I smiled devilishly and shook with amusement by the stupefied expression I got in return.

"Are you...are you using me as your dog holder so you can go to the library?" he asked astonished and I nodded like it was the most obvious thing in the world. The vampire then shook his head, not one bit on board with me. "No can do." I was step away from lashing out to him and ask him then why was he following me around but decided to play the disinterested card. So I shrugged, waved him off and said.

"Whatever. Thank you for accompanying me, Damon. I'll see you around." And I stepped back ready to tie the puppy on the bench and run upstairs to get my books, but before I could do that a hand took the leash and pulled Beluga away from me.

"You have five minutes," tersely said the blue eyes Salvatore and he looked like he didn't know himself why he was doing this. I was shocked too but I didn't push it. I smiled and nodded, going straight to the entrance. I tried to not take long and when I had got the new batch of books I quickly put them in my pack and ran out. As I was descending the stairs, I looked out of the window from the second floor and almost lost my footing. There on the bench sat the Damon Salvatore as he scratched behind the ears of my dog who was perched next to the vampire on the said bench.

Traitor! He was entranced by the beauty of the vampire!

Wasn't it a dog's second nature to feel danger? Why was he so happy all of a sudden in the Salvatore's presence? But then again if I remembered correctly all of the characters in the show knew how dangerous and deadly Damon was but that didn't stop them from being around him. He maybe just had this effect on people.

"Just in time!" I jumped in front of him and he chuckled lowly by how energetic I was. So what? "I see that you won him over." I looked at Beluga who was waving his tail happily back and forth glancing from me to Damon.

"What can I say, everyone loves me." winked the vampire and I rolled my eyes. Yeah. Sure.

"Thank you, Damon." I continued. He gazed at me and then stood up, giving me back the leash and shrugging nonchalantly.

"It was nothing, Adelle. But if you say that to someone I will never admit it." he fake glared at me...or was it real? Eh...

"You secret is safe with me, Salvatore." I smiled totally ignoring the threat. "But really, thank you, I feel like you don't get it too often. Whether you deserve one or not." And then not wanting to keep talking, his stare becoming more heated by each word that comes out of my mouth I said my good bye and got the hell away from him.

One thought kept on coming in my mind. If Damon wasn't against compelling Elena, why didn't he ever do that to me?

* * *

It was Halloween and in the original now both brothers would be making Vicki one hell of a crazy new born vamp. She would attack Jeremy, then Elena, Stefan would kill her, the little Gilbert would be compelled and all of us would be lying our asses of in front of the Sheriff. But instead of that Vicki was blissfully human, Matt still had his sister, Jeremy was going to some party with Lucy and Elena, Caroline, Bonnie and I were getting ready for tonight. We were going to the party at school.

From what I could gather, Bonnie had asked her Grams about the whole truth and she knew already that the brothers were vampires, she showed Elena too her powers but we never talked about it when the doppelganger was with us. Non the less the witch would find me from time to time and share her advancing on her skills and ignore all things Stefan or Damon.

For the past few days, after the encounter with Damon, I haven't seen him, he was probably planning the diabolical plan to free Kathrine and now when he didn't have to chase after the little witch to get back the crystal, everything was going smoothly for him.

Stefan was with me most of the time when I was at school, whenever we didn't have classes together, he would be waiting for me in front of my classroom. It was kind of sweet and I liked how he wanted to talk with me, get to know me and I in return too. Yes, he did share a lot, never specifying when exactly those events happened, but I never pried to know more.

Tyler on the other hand was fuming that the vampire was 'stealing my time for himself' and because of that I would spend most of my after school time with him – while he was in practice, which was cool because I would be able to talk with Care and Bonnie too. Stefan had given up on playing the night when Damon killed Tanner. And Elena was inspired by Beluga and where I found him so she took a part time job to work at the animal shelter. The wolf never said anything about his father looking for something missing in the safe so that made me relax that the Mayor wasn't even aware of the moon stone missing.

"What do you mean, Stefan isn't coming to the party?" asked outraged Care, while she was choosing a costume from the rack in the store. I had already got mine.

"Well, he didn't specify." answered Elena. "Ask Addie."

"What? How the hell should I know?" I turned to them both. Bonnie was in the changing room. The two glanced at me with exasperated looks and I was going to question them about it but Bonnie showed us her costume.

When we were done, we had only two hours before the party but I made an excuse that I would meet them there. They didn't ask more and I had the feeling that they knew I was going to the boarding house.

And yes, it is the first time that I would step foot in there.

So when I knocked on the door it was already dark outside. In my hands I was holding the bag with my costume and as I looked around I could see passing kids all the way to the street, all wearing costumes and collecting candies. The boarding house from the outside looked even more impressive than in the show. It had this mysterious feeling to it that made your skin craw but no matter how much you knew that you should stay away, somehow you couldn't stop yourself. Both Salvatore's were the same.

Just as I was about to knock again, the door flung open and there stood Stefan Salvatore in all his glory, hair dripping wet wearing black jeans and a simple white tee. Around his neck he had placed a towel. And oh my God, was I blushing? Shit I was! But could you blame me, he was so sexy.

"Adelle? I didn't know you were coming." he smiled and I just nodded mutely.

"Did I hear correctly, brother?" And like a blur behind the younger vampire transformed out of nowhere the second Salvatore. For an unknowing person it would look like he came out of the kitchen next to us, but I knew he came from upstairs. And oh no... he skipped the shirt all together and like Stefan he too had a towel...AROUND his HIPS!

I just bit my tongue.

"Ouch!" fuck it hurt! Both looked at me surprised by my behaviour but I was not gonna explain to them in hell what was going on. When the sting finally disappeared I returned my attention back to the two men that wanted to kill me, really.

Have you heard of somebody dying from biting their tongue because she/he was too shocked by the Goodness of two half naked vampires?

No?

Well, I was step away from being put on the front page of the local newspaper. I swear!

"Do you two shower together or something?" Addie...why did you have to open that stupid mouth of yours?! From the looks they both send me I knew that I was making a complete idiot out of myself. And because they were both still not saying anything, I of course had to continue... "I... you know...you both are ...well...wet...or...y-yeah...and I thought that...and it's not like it's a bad thing or...I totally understand...bro power and all..."

"Adelle...please..." Stefan if you weren't a vampire I was sure that you would be blushing right about now. He looked so embarrassed! A hundred and sixty something years old man was embarrassed by a seventeen years old teenager. Good job Addie. Damon on the other side was having the time of his life he was chuckling so hard behind his brother that it was a sight to be seen. Stefan threw him a glare but the older Salvatore didn't seem to care. At all.

"Why, sweet Adelle, do you imagine us both in the shower, maybe … with you?" He finally composed himself and this devilish sexy smirk and bedroom eyes were on full display right now and were solely concentrated on me. Did he just...?

"What? No! … I ...n-no!" I shook my head vigorously and took a breath, I was here for a reason, so I straightened my body and looked back at both of them. "Stop with the teasing, I'm here for a very serious reason!" I reprimanded. "Won't you invite me in, or will I just continue to stand here?" the second I asked that Stefan stepped away looking sheepish like he had forgotten that the whole thing was happening in the entrance. He scratched his neck and said.

"Come in, Adelle, sorry for that, you just caught us unsuspecting." he said and I waved him off.

As I slowly walked deeper into the house I was amazed by how beautiful it was. It had so much artefacts and vintage things all around it and when we entered the parlour I was shocked by the enormous shelves full with books. And the fireplace...

"This is incredible..." I said in trance and still looked around, almost afraid to touch anything. Damon casually walked towards the bar section where he poured himself a drink as both Stefan and I refused one.

"Welcome to our humble home." the blue eyed man winked and I smiled in thanks. Then something went off in my brain. "So mind telling me why none of you are going to the Halloween party?" I turned to both of them and put my hand on my hips trying but obviously failing to look stern.

"Why would I want to spend an evening in a building full with intoxicated teenagers?" asked Damon.

"And your excuse, little Salvatore?" Damon almost spilled out his bourbon, chocking in disbelieve.

"You hear that, brother, sweet Adelle here called you little Salvatore!" Stefan was far from amused and send me a look.

"Okay… oops. Whatever, we don't have time for that! Answer!" the blond brother sighed, folded his arms and said.

"I am not feeling in the mood for a party Adelle." and then he threw a glare at Damon. Okay what was that about? I tutted at both of them.

"Well, I didn't know you were both boring like that. Ah whatever. It's your loss, really." I waved and started to walk but then they spoke almost in the same time.

"I don't have any costume." Stefan.

"What are you going as?" Damon.

I stopped and thought for a second. Then I turned and put an innocent smile.

"How about this, Stefan if I find something here to make a costume for you, you would come. And Damon, if you promise not to make fun of any of us, I would tell you." I looked at them and tried to play the kicked puppy look. One. Two...

"But I must give it a Go, or I'm not wearing it." agreed Stefan, even if he looked like he didn't want to do it. Puppy face. It always works. I turned my attention to Damon and send him a questioning stare.

"Not promising anything, sweet Adelle." I grinned in satisfaction!

"Yes! Okay, show me your rooms, boys!" maybe I didn't word it right...but they got the idea...right?

So finally I was able to snoop in Stefan's bedroom, he let me do anything, while he just lounged on his bed, and I went into his closet.

"It will be harder then I suspected..." I paused for a dramatic effect..."Damon, what do porn stars' dress like?" There was a swoosh of air, a chocking sound and a book falling.

"Beg your pardon?" asked an almost pale Stefan, he was now on his feet and Damon was still in his towel, now hovering just next to me. Did those two forgot that I wasn't supposed to know their secret? He looked so amused but the spark in his eyes told me that he knew what I was doing.

"Oh, you know...socks...most of the times...ehh...A tie...but that's not too common." the vampire was talking so seriously that I was barely holding back my hysterical laugh.

"Very funny, both of you..." Stefan rolled his green eyes and took back his place on the bed, totally ignoring us now.

"That's too posh! No. No." I shook my head and grinned at the blue eyed man, he was smirking from ear to ear. "What do you think, Damon?"

"How about a stripper?" a groan was heard from behind us.

"Why in all those choices am I always naked?" asked the younger brother. I skipped from the closet and Damon and went towards Stefan.

"Don't you feel comfortable in your own skin, Stefan? Is that it?" I asked faking seriousness, the poor guy was second away from saying fuck it and getting the hell away from us. I knew it. "Oh you poor thing! You are beautiful, dear, from the inside out!" I squished his cheeks in my hands and made goo goo sounds. The vampire had enough and before I knew it he was pushing my hands away, and stepping away. Hahah!

"Adelle...you are seriously questioning my decision to come tonight." I sighed exasperatingly and rolled my eyes.

"Fine! Fine! Buzz killer." I spared a glance at the other brother who was leaning on the wall, looking very amused but what caught my attention was how defined his abs were...God, he was the devil himself. I had been ignoring this body from the moment I bit my tongue, it was literary a threat for my life!

Concentrate!

"Okay, as I see that we don't have much time left..." I went to grab my bag and looked in to it...ah! Here it is! I pulled out a cop hat and a gun attached to a belt. "Stefan you will be a cop... or at least for the night. Put on something blue." the vampire himself looked stupefied.

"You had that all this time?"

"Yep!" I smiled cheekily.

"Then why look all over my...stuff...? Oh...Adelle you could have just asked me if you wanted to look around." He said after realizing my true reasons.

"Where was the fun in that?" I grinned and he only shook his head amused before taking the costume additions. I clapped my hands in excitement, then I turned my attention to the older brother, he was staring right back at me. I let out a small smile and stepped closer.

"Even if I decide to come, I'm not wearing a costume, Adelle." he rolled his eyes but I just grinned more.

"What if what I have in mind would bring all the ladies around you?" he scoffed and pushed himself from the wall, he stepped closer and flexed his muscles...Oh my...

"Do I look like someone that needs anything more then what he already has, sweet Adelle?" he smirked and wiggled his eyebrows. Fuck...was he right...!

"Okay, alright...but this will make you shine brighter!" I exclaimed purposely waving my hands for additional effect. He chuckled, shook his head then looked at me and just stayed silent for a moment or two...or three...okay...were those blue eyes that dark when I came in?

"Damon...?"

"Show me what it is." his voice was a tone lower than few seconds back. I ignored it. Yep, totally ignored the electricity and all the goose bumps.

"So... it's..." I searched in the back and pulled out a hairband...with kitty ears on top. Yes, imagine Damon Salvatore wearing kitty ears.

I would take a photo, I promise.

"Are you joking?" he smirked and then it transformed in to a crooked smile and just like the night at the lake, he looked away like he was embarrassed he was actually smiling at me.

"If any man could pull it off, it would be you, Salvatore." I grinned and pushed the band towards him. He stared at it, then at me.

"Do you have any hot teachers at all?" I thought for a second...did we...?

"Yep, a few. They would be totally in to this!" I was lying, he knew I was lying, but he still took it and left to get actually dressed.

I didn't even have to use the puppy face.

No! What was my costume? I found a short dark red dress in my wardrobe and as I had previously curled my head I added mousse to make it more voluminous and pulled out from the bag a big tiara and a sceptre. Yep, a Queen. Pretty easy.

"A princess, huh?" Damon asked me when he walked down the stairs, wearing all black with the addition of the kitty ears. He did pull them off. Darn it!

"A Queen actually." I spanned around. He chuckled and falsely bowed.

"As you wish, my queen." gee...did it got hot her or something? Not a moment or two later, Stefan came on the top of the stairs, he wasn't wearing the cap hat, but it wasn't so bad. He was actually pretty hot...mhmm.

"Perfect, now that we are all ready, let's take a picture!" I jumped and took my camera from my bag. I beckoned Stefan to come to me and when he was close, I placed one hand over his shoulders, and one around the back of his brother. "You will take the photo, Stefan!" Damon chuckled and mummer how bossy I was but sue me, I love Halloween and those two were for some reason playing along with me. I was going to take advantage of them till they got tired of it. Day slung one of his hands around my neck and came closer, Stefan did the same but his hand was lightly grazing my hip.

I was in a Salvatore's sandwich!

My life was complete.

"Okay! One...Two…Three!" I exclaimed and smiled big, as the flash went I felt the raven vampire on my left place a surprising kiss on my cheek and when later I saw the photo, Stefan was actually smiling big and a little goofy. One being a cop, the other a cat.

P.R.I.C.E.L.E.S.S!

The party went as I expected, Damon mingled with all of my lady teachers, I danced with the girls, had few drinks and made Stefan loosen up a bit.

Not a bad Halloween. I'm telling you.

Not at all.


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer

I do not own Vampire Diaries. The O.C. is my only original character.

This story will follow the series to some extend, there will be a lot of changes and you will find a partial O.O.C. here.

It will be rated **[M]** for future chapters and yes it will be a **Menage love story/P** **olygamous relationship** , if you don't like please don't read.

I welcome constructive criticism and if you would like to help me with that, please write me a P.M.

Big thanks to my Beta - Kaderin ( _vkdrie . selene_ ) for correcting this chapter! ^w^

 **[!]** Comments. Follows. Any kind of support is highly appreciated. No kidding, it does give the motivation to update faster!

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Chapter 3

I don't know what is going on with everyone today.

Seriously.

It has been a week since the Halloween party and I was surprised by how slow things were happening. In the show they skipped all the events that were of no great importance to the plot, and so one would think that everything was developing in the span of days. The reality I came to know was different. I had been here in the fictional Mystic Falls for almost two months and shockingly I was getting pretty used to it.

This thought shocked me one morning while I was getting ready for school. I was making breakfast, vegan yes, and surprisingly all the Gilbert's were present for it. What was even more shocking was how Jeremy was actually talking about Lucy, his newfound girlfriend, Elena was giving him advice for their next date and Jenna was gushing over how normal all of this was. Beluga had been following me around and he was growing bigger and bigger with each passing day.

Alaric had come in to town too, he had been kicking Jer's ass with so many projects and homework that I had to give it to him. None the less everyone loved the new teacher and for the time being he was keeping a low profile.

Me, being the 'cool sister' that I was, tried my best to ignore Elena and Jeremy's subtle schemes to trap me into doing something together. It was funny actually, the younger one, one day asked me if I wanted to play on the gaming console with him and because I love video games I was all for it. I expected him to start bitching like the brat I knew him to be but he was trying to have a normal, very awkward conversation with me. He went as far as to ask me what was I thought of Lucy.

Wasn't Elena enough? Why did he have to rope me into all of this too?

Understanding that he was searching consciously or not for his second big sis's approval, I stopped myself from answering with the bitchy response I had on the tip of my tongue. He was shocked. I was shocked.

The worst part ever?

It wasn't such a bad thing. But after that he came more often to my room, just asking random and totally unnecessary questions, seeking my opinion or just wanting to see the new photos I had made.

Elena on the other hand became even more invasive with wanting to know what I was doing with all of my free time. Like I would actually tell her that I was reading every book that I got my hands on or information on how I got here or why.

Yes, let's tell her that she is my dear not-sister-but-sister-from-this-show-that-now-is-somehow-a-reality...she would totally get it.

And let's not forget about how she was as clueless as ever about the existence of vampires.

How did she get it so fast in the series, again? Ah, yes! She was actually together with one blood sucker and he wasn't so good at keeping his secret an actual secret. Now they were just friends and didn't talk outside of the classes they had or whenever the whole group got together.

It was such a strange sight to be see, like seriously, those two were the definition of a perfect dream couple the first three seasons of the show. Now...they were just friends...

Mind blowing.

I was slowly, even though I wasn't sure I wanted to, becoming close with everyone of the crew. In the beginning it was so easy to see them as those fictional characters that had made mistakes or were just interesting to observe as they ponder on their problems, but now I was part of their problems. I was actually put numerous times in the position to give advice...me!

And just like that the witch that I was fangirling over for being so strong and cool, became my friend who came to me to show me what knew she learned from her Grams or just to talk.

The hyper cheerleader that put a front for everybody, let her walls down when we were the only ones and told me how shitty it was for her parents to be divorced and her father having a new family, while her mom only thought of work.

The future wolf was becoming more and more the big brother that I never had and he was starting to act less of a jerk to my friends. That was a lot.

I was still not close friends with Matt or...Vicki, but we were good.

Stefan was another thing altogether, I think he was set on occupying my free time as much as he could, and it was sweet, it made me blush that he wanted to spend time with me, but that made him question what was I plotting and doing that no one knew about. I would always counter back with the same thing I said to Damon, that as he had secrets so did I. The hurt look on his face proved to me that the vampire was thinking that I didn't trust him which I did, but that didn't mean I would ever tell him, or anyone else what the truth was.

Damon on the other hand was still his evil self. This time, apart from sucking up to the Sheriff, he was making puppy faces to the Bennett witch, by now I thought he would have put his plan into action seeing that nothing was standing in his way, but he was stalling, I don't know why or for what, but I was playing the oblivious girl so I had no say in the matter. The Bennett's ofcourse didn't want to have anything to do with him so I knew that in the near future the older Salvatore was going to do something drastic.

And as so many things had changed I had no freaking idea what was that going to be.

Oh, wait!

Actually I do know a fucking reason as to why this ass was being so slow with his evil schemes!

He was butting into my business!

For example. One day I received a call from the woman that sent me some of the books I was just working on. She told me that she knew someone that might know something more about the subject I was 'researching'. Long story short we decided to meet. In order to go there and return in the same day, I had to skip school altogether.

Later I would get it from Jenna, but in front of everyone else I was saying that I was taking a break. No one questioned me, and I had the sneaky feeling that Elena had something to do with it, because she no doubt took my excuse as something deeper and meaningful. Like I was getting overwhelmed and had to have a day to myself and grieve some more...or something. Who knew? I didn't.

Did I care? Nope.

As long as no one suspected the real reason I was absent, I didn't mind. Everything was going perfectly fine till I stopped just before exiting the town's borders to get some nuts and water as well as to buy gas. And who did you think I saw there? Yep, the one and only Damon Salvatore.

"Well, isn't this Adelle Gilbert, who if I'm not mistaken should be in school at about..." he pretended to look at his non existent watch. "..Now?" The smirk was there along with the all consuming presence that just pulled you towards him too. The girl behind the register was under his spell, and seeing her glare at me for stealing his attention told me that he had to yet compel her. The vampire himself was leaning casually near her, one hand on the bar and the other in his pocket. And damn he looked sexy in his signature black clothes.

"Hello to you too, Damon." I waved, not really having time to chat with him. My dismissal made him even more amused and I was yet again regretting not getting any food from the house.

"Where are you going this fine morning?" he asked me, walking next to me as I searched the aisles for water and snacks.

"Oh you know..." I answered not giving anything away sparing him a backwards glance. He had been observing me the whole time.

"No I don't actually." He replied. I shrugged unconcerned and stopped in front of the nuts section and started to look for something I liked. "You know, I have a little bit of a hard time reading you, Adelle." the vampire said standing next to me, pretending to look for something as well.

"Then you'd better stop trying, Damon." That made him chuckle and when I turned my attention back to him he was already staring right at me, capturing me with those amazing blue eyes, that when I compared with mine were a tad bit darker.

"I like a challenge, sweet Adelle." he responded and I knew he was trying to get a reaction out of me, but he got none.

"Then good luck with that." I smiled sweetly and picked up a bag with chestnuts, but the Salvatore took it from me and placed it back in place. I was about to protest when he then picked another bag that was a mixture of nuts and dried fruit.

"That's the better choice." he said and put it in the shopping cart I had with me. Normally I would have returned it just for the sake of showing that he couldn't make me do whatever he wanted but then I payed more attention to the purchase. It was one of my favorites, I always had some laying around my room. How did he know?

Oh my God…. Had he been in my room?

I held back the question and smiled a little. No matter how creepy it was, it was also a little bit sweet too.

When I was done with all of that, I was already walking towards my car, for a brief moment I believed that Damon would leave me be, but then once again I was wrong.

"You are going out of town?" He asked and as I put my purchases in the seat next to mine I said yes. "What, going on a road trip all alone? Where's the fun in that?" He asked and I rolled my eyes, seriously?

"No Damon, a bunch of killers are waiting for me just outside of town, I'm picking them up and then we are going to paint the next city red." Hey I could be sarcastic too!

There was a flash of amusement in his eyes and a crooked smirk as well, but I was going to be late if I didn't get in the car just about now.

"I'll see you around, Salvatore." As I entered the car he grabbed the door just before I was about to close it. The vampire leaned in a little and I held back the desire to push my body away. He was just too tempting, too sinful and if I wasn't careful I would fall for those charms. Those deadly charms.

"Does your sister know what you're up to?" He questioned and I wasn't sure if that was a threat or just a normal question.

"No. It's no ones business, Damon, so don't feel too offended for not knowing." I deadpanned. His eyes narrowed.

"And she just let her little sister go somewhere, not having any idea what was she doing or where or ...?" I smirked.

"...Or with who?" Was he thinking that I had a secret boyfriend tucked away in a basement? Like really? Was I giving off that kind of vibe? As irritation flashed in his blue eyes I knew that he did think I had a secret lover. And he didn't look one bit happy about it.

"It's not Elena's business to take care of me, I'm no damsel in distress, and whatever I'm doing, or with whoever it is...It doesn't concern you. Or your brother." I smiled forcefully, praying that he won't snap as the irritation that I saw was getting more prominent. Damon Salvatore never liked not knowing something. And even if he said that he saw all of this as a challenge and it was all fun for him, me implying that I had a boyfriend didn't seem to amuse him at all.

"Have a nice day, Damon." I grabbed the handle and was 50/50 on if he would let me close the door. He did. As he stepped back and I drove off, I asked myself, why he was so persistent in knowing what was I up to, especially since he never tried to compel it out of me? Yes, granted I was drinking and wearing vervain, but he didn't know that. So why was he wasting his time with me?

As far as the meeting went, I was met with a professor that was doing his second doctorate in universal continuum's- how worlds were created, how planets were destroyed. All of that, it was interesting, but it didn't help me with getting anywhere near what I was looking for. What got me in this universe, was not natural, it was someone's doing and I was just as far from finding the truth as I was when I started.

Knowing that, I was in a bad mood all the way back to Mystic Falls, a town that didn't even exist in my world! This mood continued the next day too and I stayed in bed all throughout school hours, waiting for Caroline to be done with cheer practice so we can go to Whitemore, have a spa day and for me to get my hair redone.

Yes, I never thought of how my roots were going to show in every three or four weeks and I had to go so that the stylist could dye it once more. Care was ecstatic because that meant we could have a day for ourselves and she could go crazy with shopping. It was a pain in the ass if you ask me, but then again I loved my hair being silver/gray and if I had to do that, I would.

Those were the times I would get another batch of vervain from the tea shop too. Will that be a new type of tea with the herb in it, or just on it's own, it didn't matter, like that I had it covered for the whole Gilbert family.

* * *

It was one Sunday morning when Elena barged in my room. I was just looking over all of the photos that I had made for the time I had been here and I had printed them all. Some of them were going to the wall, other in the numerous albums I had bought, third I had made copies for everyone that wanted one. Mainly Elena and Caroline.

And as I said the doppelganger came in, frantic, saying something about going to Stefan and there she saw a half naked woman and the brunette got all 'he had a secret girlfriend and he never told anyone!'

So I was living in the timeline where Stefan had his birthday and his best friend Lexi came to see him. Goody! Now I had to go out of my way to save her ass so that the fragile trust the brothers had couldn't be broken. And let's be serious, Damon didn't think this through the last time he did it and even if he said that he didn't care, that was one big fat lie and I was not going to let it happen.

By now, said vampire had to have talked with Caroline, and as she didn't hate him, he would have no problem in convincing her to plan a party for Stefan. I was right you see, the blond text-ed me and Elena about it and that it was Stefan's birthday. Shocked Elena left to go and find him a present and I went along with my day.

I would leave the younger brother to have time with his best friend, and while doing that I would put into action the preparations for my own plan. So when the sun started to set I knew that sooner or later both friends would show up in the grill. Damon would be there waiting for the Sheriff to come and vervain the vampire he would point to them, they would succeed in vervaining Lexi and Damon would kill her.

So how could a girl, a human girl, that wasn't supposed to know about anything at all, stop this? I couldn't go and say to Lexi to be careful, she would find out that I know of the existence of vampires. I couldn't talk Damon out of it, because he would ask the same questions and even more importantly how I was aware of his plans.

I couldn't tell anyone. I couldn't compel anyone.

So, when Elena sent me a message that she was at the boarding house, apologizing and giving Stefan his gift, I asked her to tell me when would they be going to the Grill. When she did that, I went outside, ran a lap around the house and pulled out the burn phone I got this morning and called the Sheriff.

 _"Sheriff Forbes speaking._ " Now was time to act.

"I...I...he...h-he came o-out of nowhere." my voice was ragged, I couldn't breath well because of the running and to the sheriff I sounded scared and panicked.

 _"Sweetheart, please calm down, what is your name where are you? Did you see the man?"_

"I...was walking around the woods, I had a meeting with my boyfriend, but this man...this thing he came from somewhere and then he had d-dark veins below his eyes a-nd his teeth were long and sharp-p...he was so f-fast and then he at-attacted me..he...he God...he bit my NECK...my-my neck...and...Please help me!" God was I a good actress! On the other side the Sheriff was no doubt informing the search party that was supposed to go to the Grill, but this time they were coming for me...

 _"Child, please concentrate, everything is going to be fine, tell me where are you?"_ I started to run again, my breathing was getting to calm and I had to keep it as real as possible.

"The woods, I...am not sure...I entered them from where the welcome sign of Mystic falls is...I-I walked some and then h-he-he came and I ran...I'm not sure..." I was making them go to the far end of the town border, that would take them some time and I would have the chance to continue with my plan.

 _"Okay, sweetie, listen carefully, keep on running, try to get out of the woods we're on our way, stay..."_ but I ended the call. Liz Forbes was now thinking that the vampire got me. Or not...it doesn't matter, what did, was that Damon would be called any second and he would go with her and the rest of the deputies in search for the girl and the vampire.

It was my time to act.

When I entered the grill, it was filled with students from school, the music was loud but not too much, Bonnie, Caroline and Elena were singing karaoke, while Stefan and Lexi were playing pool.

Damon was no longer here.

I went straight to the birthday boy and he turned around just before I could jump on his back.

"Adelle! Hi." he smiled broadly and from over his shoulder I saw Lexi looking at me with interest.

"Stefan Salvatore, you are in big trouble!" I hit him playfully on the shoulder. He grinned sheepishly and scratched the back of his neck. "Happy Birthday, you idiot! I wish you a lot of happy moments and blissful adventures!" I smiled at him and then hugged him. He wrapped his hand around me a second later and pulled me closer, bringing his face into the crook of my neck.

"Thank you, Adelle." He said when I pulled away. I noticed how he was reluctant to let me go and that didn't go past his bff, who arched her brow in amusement.

"You can call me, Addie, from now on." I winked and he chuckled lowly at how cheeky I was acting. Then the other vampire stepped closer.

"Hello, I'm Lexi, you must be Adelle, Stefan's told me a lot about you." She smirked and God Stefan looked embarrassed! In return of the playful glare he threw her, she only rolled her eyes. This woman was fun!

"And you are Lexi, the woman Stefan described as his best friend and partner in crime. It's nice to finally meet you." I shook her hand.

"Ah, whatever he told you, it was even more crazy and trust me, this one here..."She shrugged towards the Salvatore that was very amused. "May play an angel but don't let that fool you." I grinned.

"Everyone has a dark side, Lexi." She chuckled.

"How about you join us for the next round?" I looked over the pool table, then at Stefan who didn't seem to mind at all.

"Actually, I was thinking of giving Stefan's birthday present...if you don't mind." I said acting sheepish. The female vampire grinned and I don't know what she thought that present would be but it made her laugh, sparing a glance at her friend that was now staring at me. Face unreadable.

"Oh, I don't mind." She waved of. "You can take Stefan away." But I shook my head and that made her curious.

"Oh, in order to be complete, I need you to come with us too, Lexi." I smirked when she let out her surprise. Both vampires spared each other a look but agreed.

We all got in my car, and as I drove they shared with me stories of their past. Lexi was surely aware that I 'didn't know about them' so they acted as though all of this happened in the past few years.

Fine by me.

When I parked in front of the Gilbert's house, they were both now even more curious about what was I having in mind. We passed the building and I led them towards the woods behind the property.

"Stop here and wait for a moment." I grinned and then went and pressed a switched I had installed here this morning. All around us, white Christmas lights came to life, illuminating the surrounding area. Just in front of the best friends stood a smaller pool table, next to which I had placed a table with a radio on it and some food and alcohol.

"Is that..." Choked out Lexi in amusement when her eyes zeroed on the darts that was placed on a tree but instead of the normal board on it I had placed a printed picture of the face of the one and only Damon Salvatore.

Both vampires stared at me with a mixture of shock and disbelief.

"I know that Stefan wouldn't be so ecstatic over the party that Caroline threw, and he doesn't like a crowd, but as he told me he loved spending time with you, Lexi, and from what I know you're a party girl. So I thought, why not create the best of both worlds? We have music, I personally picked what came out to be your two favorite bands, we have alcohol and pool and you can play darts with the face of Damon dearest." I smiled cheekily, but then it slowly faded when none of them reacted. Was it a bad idea? Yeah I wasn't going to go all the way like I did, but this was for the protection of Lexi too.

Before I could say anything more, Lexi composed herself first and then a big vibrant smile graced her face. She looked at Stefan that had never let his eyes leave my being and she laughed.

"You lucky, lucky, man, I like her!" She then turned to me. "Adelle, you gained my approval!" Huh? I didn't have the possibility to ask her what she meant, because she turned up the music and started to open the alcohol.

My eyes returned to the other vampire, that was watching me with those dark green orbs. His whole posture was screaming intense and when he started to walk, towards me, I held back the desire to step back. In three long strides he was in front of me, his hands gently cupping my cheeks and his face inches away from mine. Stefan was breathing hard, like he was trying to control himself, I stood there paralyzed not knowing what to do. He was looking at me with such affection that my heart skipped a beat or two...Then his fingers just had to caress my face so gently and almost lovingly, that made the burn of blushing inevitable. And trust me I tried.

He had to of course go all the way and kiss my left cheek, his lips lingering on my skin, making it throb, and god, how was it possible for someone to blush so much?

"Thank you, Addie, this is amazing." He smiled gently at me when he finally pulled back and I had to compose myself, and step back. Clearing my throat, I clapped my hands.

"Okay! Lexi give me a drink!" The said vampire laughed loudly and pushed a cup towards me.

For the next few hours, we danced, we played pool, played darts. Which was the show stopper. Honestly. We talked, had fun and drank some more. Damon was mentioned once or twice when Lexi trashed him or something and it was so funny that I was grinning like an idiot. Throughout the night I did my best to not be affected by the way Stefan would always look at me, and when we would catch our gazes he would smile oh so gently. I ignored...or tried to ignore the few times it happened. I sucked balls in both games and he would come behind me to show me how to properly do it. Lexi was having the time of her life making fun of him.

When we decided to call it a night, I had my goodbye with the older vampire, she was leaving 'tomorrow morning' she said but I knew she was getting out of here tonight.

"When I saw your sister...Elena, I was going to shout at Stefan about going out with her..." At my fake questioning stare she continued. "Not that I have anything against her, she just looks too much like his evil cunning ex. But he told me that they were only friends, I of course didn't believe him even for a second..till you showed up at the grill." This time I was truly curious. The vampire only laughed, waved her hand and said. "I don't trust Damon, you shouldn't too, but from what I saw today, he was acting like less of the jerk he is and Stefan said that it had something to do with you. Now don't look so surprised, Adelle, I only know you for few hours, but I already like you. It's just the way it is...And if you ask for my opinion, I approve of you giving them a run for their money. Someone has to get through both of their thick heads." Half of what she told me I had no idea what it was all about. But I couldn't stop the small smile that graced my lips.

"I care about them both, maybe it will bite me in the ass in the future, but it's the way it is." I winked, repeating her words. "And if there is something that I want from them, is that they would remember what it is to be brothers. That's my goal." I confessed and she stayed silent, searching my face for something before nodding.

"Then I wish you good luck. And while I'm not here keep an eye on this one." she shrugged towards Stefan that was putting back the table from the woods in the house. I grinned.

"You have my word."

That's how we parted. Lexi left town alive.

* * *

As Stefan entered the boarding house he could admit it to himself that tonight turned out to be better than expected. He didn't want to do anything today and to be fair if it wasn't for Lexi, he would have stayed home the entire evening too.

Lexi, she was his long time friend, she was there for him when he would slip of the wagon and help him come back. Stefan knew that he owed her his life. He was aware of the history between her and his brother and it still surprised him that Damon left him alone today and didn't do anything to compromise the stay of the third vampire.

The thought of his brother made him uneasy, from the moment he made Damon turn, over 162 years ago, he was promised an eternity of misery and he got it. Wherever he went his brother followed, leaving only destruction and death behind him, never letting Stefan have a moment of happiness and peace. And Stefan thought he deserved it, he took away Damon's free choice, he made him the monster that he is, so he would take whatever his brother had for him, no questions asked.

The worst kind of punishment though, was Damon making him believe that they could be brothers again, he had fallen for that so many times, that he was slowly loosing hope. Damon would gain his trust and before he knew it, Stefan would find everyone he cared about dead in their own blood. That has been going on for years and when he showed up here...Stefan was ready to leave, to get his brother as far away from this little town as possible.

Why did he come?

At first it was because of Elena, the girl he saved the night when her parents died, he was so stricken by the resemblance between her and Katherine that he had to get to know her. How was this possible? He still didn't know, but one thing was for sure Elena Gilbert had nothing in common with her vampire double. She was sweet, nice, loving, loyal and friendly. Nothing at all like Katherine had been.

But without Stefan knowing, his attention turned towards the little sister of Elena, Adelle Gilbert. The moment he saw her, Stefan was amazed by her beauty, yes her white hair grabbed his attention first, but then he was captivated by her big blue eyes, her plump lips and the way that she held herself. She walked like she knew how she grabbed attention but the more he got to know her, Stefan found out that she actually didn't have a clue. When she slapped him he was left speechless, the determination and protectiveness she held for her friends made him admire her. She wasn't afraid to speak her mind but still held so much mystery around herself that he couldn't help but be pulled towards her.

So he spent more time with her, the more he got to know her the more enticed he was by her. The most amazing thing was that Adelle never tried to pry in his life, she never once judged him and he just couldn't help himself but open up more to her. Something he never allowed himself to do. He never felt pressured to tell her his secret, and believe him, he wants to. She was the first human that overcome any logic that his brain would throw at him. Stefan wanted to show himself to her completely, to hide nothing from her, even if he knew that he was putting her in danger.

Bonnie had warned him, she could expose him, but he promised her that he would never be able to hurt Adelle.

What she did tonight, had thrown him overboard. He wasn't the only one that got to know her well, she was the same and she proved it by getting him out of the party, helping him spend some amazing time with his friend while playing good games and listening to his favorite music. When he saw the set up that she organized, he needed a minute to compose himself. He still could feel the veins that throbbed under his eyes, wanting to come out, his fangs that had elongated and it wasn't because of the smell of blood.

No.

It was because of her.

Her.

Adelle.

He had never wanted to kiss someone as strongly and passionately as he did tonight. And he would have, he was inches away from connecting his mouth to her sweet sweet lips, but she looked so innocent, so unsuspecting. And the thought of her pushing him away, from not feeling anything for him, made his skin crawl and insides turn.

Adelle might never feel the same, he knew that, but he would do whatever he could to stay in her life. Because even as she was oblivious to it, this human girl was making a permanent place in his heart.

As he walked towards the boarding house, he still held the package she gave him, before he and Lexi left her house. He decided that was okay to open it now and when he did, there he saw two dark frames with photos in them. The first one was of him and Damon, he remembered when she took it, it was the night of the comet. And even though they were fighting in that moment, looking at the picture they looked like they were just...having a joke. Damon was smirking while he was annoyed. If one didn't know the truth they would say that the brothers looked like...brothers.

His heart clenched.

He couldn't let himself hope that this could happen. Stefan expected for any moment now the silent truce they had between each other to come crashing down. But he had to be thankful, even for that, when Damon came to Mystic Falls he killed people, he was malicious, vengeful and Stefan was going to leave. But then the killings stopped, he was drinking from blood bags and maybe it was all a front. Stefan could never be sure about anything when it came to his brother.

Then he saw how he acted around her. At first, Stefan was sure that Damon would go after Elena, she was a dead ringer for Katherine, and he had been right, for just a short while, then just like him, Damon noticed the younger more mysterious sister. And Stefan knew, his brother was interested by her. That never went well, the girls would always end up dead a week at most after he had his fill with them, but not Adelle, She held her ground and didn't fall for any of his ways. She fought back, to the amazement of both brothers. And maybe that's what saved her from Damon.

At the night of the comet, she proved once more how different she was, how disinterested in their secret she was and her unwillingness to play along with his brother's schemes. She had awed them both, by how strong her beliefs were about siblings. The way she spoke with passion and even reprimanded them at the heritage party...

The party...Stefan could admit that he lied to her when he told her they could go as friends, it was the furthest thing he wanted, but she accepted, and that was the important part. He still remembered vividly when she descended down those steps, he was left speechless by how beautiful she was and he was once again having trouble controlling himself. He was about to kiss her that night, if Damon hadn't have come and tried to ruin it for him, but Adelle had no interest in hearing anything.

Then she left...escaped them both and left them with Elena.

Later that night Stefan had tried to understand what his brothers intentions were, why was he there. They were having another fight that he was sure would have turned into a violent physical fight, if Adelle didn't show up out of nowhere all smiles and laughs. She had trashed the Mayor's office only because he was a bad father to her friend. The respect he felt for her that night exceeded even more than he thought possible.

She had shown both brothers, another side of her, an adventurous one, that enticed them both, he knew it by the way Damon never looked away from her. The moment when she was twirling around in the lake, barefooted, the moon illuminating her like she wasn't even from this world, Stefan was left in a daze. Never in his life had he ever seen anything more beautiful and he knew that this image would be forever printed in his mind.

Then she left just as abruptly as she showed up, leaving only a fraction of her enticing scent and the words that lingered in the air. 'Nothing could be strong enough to break the bond between siblings.' It had hit right at the target. And no matter how much Damon liked to deny it, he felt it too. That was the night their fragile truce began. Call him naïve, but Stefan knew that Damon would not hurt Adelle, he saw it in the way he looked at her, the way his eyes always followed her when she was in the same room. He noticed the interest, the amusement.

Stefan knew, Damon was feeling, he didn't know what, but he was and it was because of her.

When he looked at the second frame he saw the picture of them three at the night of Halloween, they had another fight, Damon was antagonizing him about Adelle, and how obvious he was with his feelings for her, but she never noticed. But it never got far. Somehow even if Stefan was aware that Damon was competition and he would never be strong enough in a fight with him, Adelle was unknowingly bringing his brother back. He would never dare say that out loud and he was not stupid, but Damon was planning something and he could never trust him before he knew what it was. But then he spared another look at the second frame, God, wasn't he one sick puppy here...and Damon got to kiss her.

Granted it was on the cheek, but the jealousy was still there. And this time there was no compulsion involved.

When he stepped foot in the boarding house, he knew Damon was already there. He entered the living room and there he was, his big brother, drinking bourbon with a smirk on his face.

"Had a nice night?" he asked and there was a bite in his tone. Damon for some reason was not pleased. "I did. You see I had grand plans for tonight, but then the Sheriff called. A girl was attacked by a vampire, and oh..I had no say but to go on that wild goose chase." Stefan stayed quiet, not sure where all of this was going. "Then you see, no signs of said vampire so I just got tired and turned one camper."

"What?" asked Stefan, not believing, wasn't his brother keeping low profile?

"Oh, don't be dramatic, brother!" he rolled his eyes. "He was a vampire for exactly three minutes before I staked him in front all of the deputies." he stood up and went closer to the fire place. "Now I have the undoubted trust of the council, and I am part of it now, too." He gulped down the rest of his drink.

"Why are you telling me this, Damon?" asked Stefan, he was careful, his brother was not in the mood, someone had played him and neither knew who was it.

"Because, brother, you were right, I have a reason to be in this boring town. And you are going to help me with that." In less then a second they were face to face.

"You are going to help me get Katherine back."

* * *

I was in bed, the night was eventful and I wasn't left with too much energy. Jenna was sleeping soundly, Jeremy was at Lucy's, Elena was with Bonnie. I wasn't able to fall asleep, though. When I came to the conclusion that this was one of those nights, I stood up and still barefooted went downstairs. It was a warm night, so I was wearing shorts and oversized tee. I took out my key and unlocked the cabinet with all of my tea. Yeah that won't stop a vampire from opening it, but he/she would have to break the lock and I would know.

Tonight I only wanted camomile tea and so I waited for the water to get ready. Then the bell went off. Not wanting to wake up Jenna, I ran to the door and opened it quickly and to my surprise there stood both Salvatore brothers. I felt that something was wrong, maybe it was from the cold smirk Damon was adorning, or it was by how stiff Stefan was holding himself. They haven't been like that for some time now.

"Can we come in?" Damon asked, faking politeness. "But of course we can, we've been already invited in!" He stepped past me, Stefan stood there at the door, he looked so uncertain so uneasy and I knew what was going on.

"I was just making some tea, couldn't sleep. Do any of you want some?" I asked not losing my politeness.

"Ah the tea can wait, we are here for a reason, aren't we Stefan?" Continued Damon as they both followed me in the kitchen.

"Adelle, I have something to tell you. It's not the way I wanted for you to find out and I know it would be hard for you to ..." the other brother rolled his eyes and from where he stood at the entrance he blurred out and came to stand next to Stefan.

"Let's skip the boring part, brother." he slung a hand over his shoulders. I carefully sat down and kept quiet, then before I know it the blue eyes became red, veins appeared below them, fangs elongated themselves, parting his lips and in all of his glory stood Damon, the vampire.

I'm telling you, it was sight to be seen. My heart sped up, it was amazing to see it happen before your eyes. I was almost speechless.

Almost.

They both waited for my screaming, panicking...or any kind of reaction really. The only thing I did was to sip slowly the tea from the cup in my hands.

"Adelle we..we are.." Stefan probably thought that I was in shock and couldn't talk. Damon's face came back to normal and he was smirking satisfied with himself.

"You are vampires. Yes." I waved off and this time the stupefied reaction was written all over their futures.

"You know?" asked Damon stepping closer but was stopped by Stefan that never left me out of his sight, like he was afraid I wasn't real and this was not actually happening. Well it was.

"I know." I nodded not elaborating on anything. When the shock of how calmly I reacted wore of, the raven vampire narrowed his eyes. He searched my face, for something, maybe trying to understand me or detect a lie. Stefan on the other hand still held the uncertain look in his beautiful green eyes.

"Tell me everything." Damon was in a flash in front of me, trying to compel it all out of me. Stefan was next to him a second later, pushing him away from me as they started to glare at one another.

"Not in my kitchen!" I raised my voice, gaining their attention. "If you want answers, just ask. You can't compel me Damon." I sent him a glare, not one bit impressed with his behavior.

"Adelle..what is going on?" Stefan asked as he tentatively stepped closer, like he expected me to recoil in disgust away from him.

"I have known you are vampires from the first time I saw you. I have read the Gilbert's journals and if you actually looked closely, it wouldn't be so hard to find the clues." I started. "Then again, those big ass sun rings are a dead giveaway." I motioned to their family rings. "Damon would you please stop looking at me so suspiciously? If I was going to expose you I would have done it months ago." I smiled a little at both of them, trying to remove the tension. Don't ask me to lie I was feeling so brave tonight, but maybe it was the happiness of finally being able to confess some of my true knowledge. So while I was surprisingly all laid back sitting in my seat, the brothers were more or less speechless

"And why didn't you?" Damon stared at me, searching for answers. It looked like I had once again thrown him off of his game and him shocking me was a failure.

"I didn't want to. It's that simple. And yes I know that you were the one to kill those people and yes you have your humanity turned off, but I still didn't say anything." I elaborated.

"You..aren't scared?" Stefan asked tentatively. From the series I knew how hard it was for him to tell Elena the truth, and the hurt in his eyes when she didn't react so greatly, told me that he was ready for rejection, for disgust or fear. But he got none of that from me.

"You both are you. Just because you drink blood and kill, it doesn't change the way I see you. Call it me having a broken moral compass or whatever.. But it doesn't change the way I see you." I shrugged.

"If you knew, why didn't you ever say anything about it?" Continued Stefan

"It was your secret, I have no right in butting in, if you wanted to keep it that way, who am I to do otherwise, I told you both, if you want me to know something just tell me." I smiled cheekily and Damon let out a low chuckle.

"Well, I didn't see that coming." He shook his head.

"What, you thought that coming here, acting like an asshole purposely trying to scare me would do something?" I asked but he never answered, the blue eyed Salvatore just stared at me, and God in his eyes there was something new. Was it respect? New found interest? "Don't look at me that way, Salvatore, I told you, you don't know anything about me." I winked and kept on drinking my tea. "Now would you like to sit down, or are you two going to keep on standing around in my kitchen?"

"What do you want to know?" asked Stefan. He was ready to tell me whatever I liked.

"It's up to you both to tell me, I'll listen to whatever you are willing to tell me." I smiled and that's how mostly Stefan told their story. Damon would add some things, mostly sarcastic, and when it came to Katherine it would be bitter. I was surprised that the fact she and Elena were doubles came up too. They did say that they both dated her, that it was her blood in their system when they were shot. Damon then proceeded in telling the story of how Stefan made him turn, he never skipped anything. He shared all the killings, all the times he made his brother's life miserable. Stefan then told me about his Ripper decades. One side of me was ashamed and almost wanted to hate him. The other wanted me to despise him and fear him.

But none of them were getting what they wanted.

"Okay.." I said, when they were done. Both were waiting. Don't know for what exactly. "That explains the relationship between you two." I nodded and there it was again the disbelief and shock from my normal reaction.

"That's it?" Doubted Damon, his brows wrinkling, eyes getting bigger. By now they were both sitting opposite of me and I felt a little overwhelmed by how the younger brother stared at me, as if I was something else out of this world, just a tiny bit scared of my reaction, while the older one wanted me to start accusing him of being a vampire.

"Well, I could go on and on again of how both of you are idiots, for letting a woman come between you, or for not growing up and letting yourselves heal and become brothers, again. Because yes, that's the most important thing for me in this whole story. Yes, you are an arrogant emotionless killer, and you are a Ripper half of the time and a bunny eater the other half. You both made mistake after mistake. So what?" I paused, trying to make them understand. "I could never judge you. You are who you are. And let's face it, vampires kill, maybe not as much as you, or maybe even more, who knows? But it's in your nature. You crave blood. You get it. Whether you kill afterwards or not, is your choice."

"Adelle you don't understand..." started Stefan but I waved him off.

"Don't understand what? That whenever you taste human blood you go on a rampage? That you kill and kill and kill?" he tensed. "I do, Stefan, and it's part of you. I'm not looking for excuses to make what you've done less bad, because the guilt you are going to feel for the rest of your eternity is the worst punishment one could give you." Then my attention turned towards Damon. "And you, you were betrayed by your own brother, who forced you to turn, thus you wanting to grant him lifetimes of misery. You turned it off and don't care about anything. You kill. You don't care. I understand that too. I see you both, clearly. You are killers, you are dangerous, everyone should fear you, you are vampires. And I understand. Does that change me wanting to be around you both? No. Call me crazy, stupid or suicidal, but it is my choice and I made it the moment I found out about your true nature." I finished and stood up to have another cup of tea.

As I turned around, Damon was mere inches away from me, his eyes now dark blue, breathing hard, searching, contemplating, deciding. I felt his fingers caress the skin of my hand, they traveled down till they rested in my palm.

"I trust you, don't let me regret that." His deep voice penetrated me and I shook a little, realizing how big that was. I nodded and smiled.

"Good." The left side of his lips turned up slowly and he quickly looked away. Giving me a view of the second brother. He was still seated but none the less his eyes were on me. I stepped closer and put my hand on his shoulder. The muscles there immediately relaxing under my touch.

"Stop with the brooding. I don't hate you, I'm not scared of you. I accept you, Stefan. Please don't start acting all cautious around me, now." I said to him, keeping the smile on my face.

Like really, wasn't I the one that should be in his place? Why am I the one comforting and reassuring both of them?

He nodded and let out a breath, slowly taking my hand away from his shoulder and to his lips. He kissed my knuckles, green orbs never leaving mine, while doing so.

"Thank you, Adelle." I shrugged and when he finally let go I took my place and faced both vampires.

"Ah..." I grinned. "It feels sooo nice to stop pretending and being the oblivious human here!" I laughed and waved around. It was true! One less secret to keep. Both were amused by my exclamation and while Damon rolled his eyes, Stefan shook his head.

"Now tell me, not that I mind really, but where did all these confessions come from?" And just like that the easy atmosphere that lasted for a total of three seconds, was replaced back with tension.

Just great.

"You see, sweet Adelle, now that you know...everything, you are going to play the mediator between me and my brother." said Damon. Okay, what the fuck? "I came back to town not only to ruin this one's fun you see, but to also get Katherine out of the tomb." I played surprised.

"She's alive?" He told me how he came up to where we are now. How she 'presumably' was locked away there. I held back the sarcastic comment.

"And where do I come into in all of this" I asked not understanding something for the first time I was thrown into this world.

"Damon and I made a deal, Addie. I will help him open the tomb and we are going to be even." said Stefan. I didn't miss how unhappy he was with Damon including me in this plan. The vampire knew that it might be dangerous, and that locke in the tomb were 27 other bloodsuckers.

"I get Katherine out, and he will never have to see me again." Continued Damon. I nodded. I see his point, too bad it is the farthest thing from the reality.

Not happening, you two. Not happening.

"And even if he says that he is on my side, we have been brothers for over 160 years, and as a reassurance that Stefan won't stab me in the back, you would be there for each step of the plan." Damon said. "If he does something to prevent me from getting what I want everyone here will die." A chill went down my spine. He meant what he said. We all knew that. "You will make sure that we won't get that far."

"How do you open the tomb?" I pretended not to know.

"You need a crystal and a Bennett witch." he said.

"You mean a crystal you probably already have and Sheila Bennett? And yes I know that witches exist too. Bonnie is my friend, Stefan. She told me long time ago." I waved away any questions regarding that. Both nodded.

"You are right." smirked Damon. "I like it how fast you are catching up, sweet Adelle." he winked.

If he only knew, that he was the one catching up...

"I will make Sheila agree, but we can't let the rest of the vampires out. They would be looking for vengeance and the whole town would be in danger." Explained Stefan.

"Yeah, yeah, as long as I can get in, I really don't care what will happen to the rest of the suckers inside." Shrugged Damon and ignored the glare sent his way from his brother.

"So I'm the peacekeeper in the ordeal, making sure that everything is going as planned?" I clarified.

"If you want to call yourself that, then yes." smirked Damon.

"You don't have to do this, Adelle." Stefan tried to make me decline. Like I had a choice in the matter.

"Like she has a choice in the matter, brother." Damon spoke, rolling his eyes. Told you! I saw how they were going to start fighting and it was too late for that.

"I already agreed, so stop it. Before you go, I think it's safe to say that we now have a common goal, and maybe the new comer in town wouldn't like it so much." Now that caught their attention in a snap.

"What do you mean?"

"An Asian girl, black hair, reaching my shoulder, she was wearing a daylight necklace."

Anna.

Yep, she was here, I saw her two days ago, lurking, it was too soon for her to do anything, according to the show, but here now in this reality I didn't know. She tried to talk to Jeremy, just like last time but he's drinking vervain now and is going out with Lucy. Tough luck. I wanted her gone, she was more trouble than she was worth. Call me cruel or whatever, but I had no interest in her or her mother. I was going to find another way for Elena to find out about her real parents.

But for the moment, I had no particular idea of how to deal with them.

"I have a photo of her." By the surprise on their face I didn't hold back an eye roll. "Seriously? You are surprised? I take my camera with me whenever I go."

"It might have been dangerous, Adelle." Sighed Stefan not happy to hear that. I ignored him and went to get my camera, when I came back I showed them the photo.

"That's Anna, she and her mother were friends with Katherine." Damon stated, recognizing her.

"Wasn't Pearl, locked in the tomb as well? She must be here for the same reason as you." Ding ding ding! Stefan got it right first. "What are we going to do about her?"

"Look at us three, plotting and scheming!" I grinned while saying that. They both chuckled at my cheekiness. Heh!

"I'll find her, and I'll kill her. Easy." said Damon not batting an eyelash. Stefan was about to protest but I heard someone opening a door.

"That's Jenna, whatever you decide do it at the boarding house!" I said and stood up, sparing both Salvatore's a glance.

"Adelle, what are you doing up so late?" asked the sleepy woman that entered the room slowly. I looked behind me, there was not a trace left from the Salvatore's.

* * *

Next morning I was awakened by a noise and the first thing I saw when I opened my eyes was Damon Salvatore lying next to me on my bed.

"What the hell?" My voice was scratchy and it amused the vampire completely by how lost I must have looked.

"Wakey wakey!" He sang and I wanted to hit him.

"What do you want, Damon?"

"Why, aren't you happy to see me?" He grinned evilly and I flopped back down, hiding below my duvet. There was a noise and opening of drawers.

Was he..?

I stood up immediately and saw him pulling out an album with my photographs. I sprang up and ran towards him. He let me take the album away from his hands.

"Why don't you want for people to see your photos?" He asked, amused with curiosity dancing in his blue eyes.

"They are private. I have no problem with showing some of them, but not all, and definitely not those." I pointed and glared a little for an added effect. The vampire chuckled and took a seat on the sofa.

"I met Anna last night. She is indeed here for her mother." I nodded.

"What did you do?" I asked and he regarded me for a second.

"I killed her." Oh okay...was not expecting that to happen.

"Well I don't know her, but she could have caused problems and if you have everything you need, then she would be of no use to you."

"You don't mind that I did that?" he asked, tilting his head a little, regarding me with curiosity, like my nonchalance about the death of someone was something he did not expect to see from me. Yep, I'm no Elena Gilbert, get used to it.

"It's your choice Damon, her death is painted on your hands. I can't make you do anything but I can't hate you either." He looked at me for a long time.

"I killed four campers."

"I know."

"I killed a couple entering town."

"I know that too."

"I killed your teacher."

"I knew that as well, Damon. What is your point?" In a second he was in front of me. His fingers caressing my cheek, his eyes penetrating mine.

"You are one strange girl, Adelle Gilbert." I laughed and shrugged, feeling a blush creeping up from where he touched me.

"And don't you forget it, Damon."

And just like that a small real smile crept onto his face. Then he was gone.

I got dressed and seeing that I had still an hour till it was time for school I took Beluga, from Jeremy's bedroom, my bag and phone and I was out of the door.

My destination – Sheila Bennett.

As I was walking towards the old witch home my phone rang.

"Good morning, Stefan!" I grinned.

 _"Damon killed Anna."_

"Did he?" I pretended not to know, I wasn't feeling like explaining how his older brother came into my room to tell me that.

 _"She came over a few minutes ago, and he just ripped her heart out."_ Wait, what? _"Damon said that he had talked with her last night and that...she would be a threat to everyone...to you. And I didn't stop him."_ He was feeling guilty.

"Listen to me Stefan. Damon decided to kill her, it's nothing you should be feeling guilty about. Not every blood your brother spills is on you. And he was right, Anna was lurking around Jeremy, she could have hurt him." I was lying but then again he didn't know that.

 _"How can you be okay with that, Adelle?"_

"Because I care about both of you, and wish for your happiness, and for the both of you to be brothers again. Someday. But that won't happen, Stefan, if you judge Damon every time he does something you deem wrong. You may say that he is not like he used to be, but you aren't the same either. Get to know the Damon that is standing in front of you, put aside everything else. Because this Damon is a vampire, he kills, and if you want him back you should accept that. Like he should accept that you are on an animal diet and that you forced him to turn because you just wanted your older brother to be there with you."

I was nearing the Bennett house.

 _"Adelle, it's not that easy..."_ I heard him sigh. _"I didn't got the chance to ask you this last night, but are you truly okay with me...being a vampire?"_ Stefan asked and the fragile tone made my heart ache at how vulnerable he sounded, like my next words could break him into a million pieces.

"Stefan, trust me when I say this, I accept you, all of you, the human and the vampire, the killer and the good man too. I would never judge you because I care too much for you." There was a pause and all I could hear was breathing, then a low chuckle.

 _"Addie, thank you._ " I grinned by the lightness in his voice. Maybe I did succeed in soothing his worries. _"And I'm sorry for what Damon is making you do."_

"I don't believe that you would betray him, Stefan, so my role in this whole thing is almost pointless, but none the less don't beat yourself up about it, I am glad that I could help, even just a little bit. When this is over, you two will be even. There won't be any more bad blood between you at least. This is what matters."

 _"You are something else, Addie."_ I rolled my eyes and laughed.

"Yeah, yeah, get used to it! I'll see you later, Stefan. Think over what I said."

And I hung up, without knowing that it wasn't only Stefan that was hearing what I told him. Damon did too.

So he lied? Why would he say that he had already killed her, when in fact Anna was still breathing? Why did he came and try to scare me? Did he want to push my buttons or was he testing me?

Why did I have the sneaky feeling that Damon Salvatore came to me looking for approval?

One thing came to mind, the barman was a vampire too. But Logan Fell was never killed and turned. The idiot was going to live. The problem? We had a newborn on the loose.

I tied Beluga and went to the front door of the old house that I now stood in front of. I was about to knock when it opened and there stood Sheila Bennett. Now I knew the difference between a new witch and an experienced one, like her. Power was radiating from her being, making you feel respect and even cautiousness.

"Adelle Gilbert, what brings you to my front steps?" she asked. It was the first time that I saw this woman in life so it took me a bit more time to get my act together and get over the fangirling moment.

"I'm here to speak with you, madam." She looked at me and then stepped away.

"Call me Sheila and please come in." I smiled, threw a last look at the puppy and went in. She led me to her kitchen, where she forced me to sit down and have a cup of tea. Vervain. No surprise there. After a while when I was fed up with the silence and the staring I told her that I knew about her niece, which she was already aware of and I told her about my 'new knowledge' on vampires too.

"What do they want from you child?" She asked, her eyes becoming hard. It was obvious that this witch hated vampires.

"I will be a mediator between the brothers, as long as Damon gets what he is here for, he won't hurt anybody else. I will make sure of that." I tried to explain but soon saw that no matter what I told her her hatred for these creatures was too deep.

"And what does he want?"

And I told her about the tomb, about Stefan's and my plan to stake all of the vampires inside not letting anyone out. While I talked she listened, and I was captivated by how powerful she was, how knowledgeable this woman was, it made you want to respect her.

"And I have a feeling that even if you agree to open the tomb you will not lift the spell, so whoever enters and isn't a living human, would not be able to get out." I said, she was surprised by me knowing that.

"I can't risk it, child." She explained and I nodded. I saw that she wanted to find out from where I had this much information on a spell done by her ancestor. But surprisingly she didn't ask.

"I understand, I can imagine what would happen if they came out. So I would ask you for a favor." Sheila was amused but none the less interested in what I was about to say. I pulled out from my bag the grimoire and gave it to her. The shock was now completely visible.

"That's...that's my ancestor's spell book, it was lost a long time ago after her death, where did you find it?" She asked taking it carefully.

"It doesn't matter, Sheila, I'm giving it to you as a token of trust. I know that with it Bonnie will get stronger and more powerful. She would be able to protect herself. But I know that with the help of it you won't overextend your powers and get hurt." She regarded me very carefully like she was seeing me for the first time.

"What do you want in return for that, child?" I took a deep breath.

"I want you to agree, when Stefan comes here, to open the tomb. Don't tell him I have visited. I promise you that I will make sure that every vampire that was locked in there from decades ago will be killed too. But I wish from you, that no matter what pressure or demand you will be put under that you will lift the spell completely. I ask you to open the tomb, but leave it only like that, till you get your powers regenerated fully. Stefan would have enough time to kill the vampires like that."

"You do know, that this will trap your two friends too, right?" She questioned trying to understand.

"I know, but it won't be permanent. I would ask you to lift the spell two days later, by then all the vampires would be dead and you would not damage your body after getting the time to rest your magic." I explained. The witch was silent for a moment.

"I presume that you would ask me to keep Bonnie away as well?" I shook my head.

"No. In fact you need her, it would be easier."

"How do you know so much about magic, Adelle?" She asked me after a brief silence and I shrugged.

"Read a lot, best friend of a witch...whatever you decide." I smiled cheekily and Sheila understood that I had no intention of telling her the truth.

"The moment, any of the brothers become a threat, and that is me forgetting all about the previous killings two months ago, I will end them." She promised. This was the best I could get. Witches hated Vampires. Period.

"They won't pry into your business, if you don't." I nodded.

"Why are you on their side, child, don't you know what are they capable of doing?" she asked after agreeing.

"I do and I have seen it, Sheila, but there are no good people on this world. And I do believe that if someone wants it, they could become better." I explained, finishing my tea.

It was time to get going.

"I will hold my end of the deal, if you do as well, Adelle." the witch said standing up, the same time that I did.

"Thank you." I smiled as we walked towards the front door.

"But heed my advice- If you stay close to them, you will end up dead." Sheila said and I paused. This woman might be right, but then again I was no ordinary human.

"You might be right, but it would happen because I decided so." She chuckled, coughing a little too. It was safe to say that Sheila Bennett thought I was one crazy stupid girl.

And I didn't mind.

"When Bonnie told me about you knowing she did say how strange it was of you to take it so well. Now I see what she was talking about." I grinned.

Yeah, people! Better get used to my strange 'cool' behavior.

Tche.

Whatever.

Sorry for not being over dramatic.

"Thank you for this book, for returning it where it belongs to." Were the last words that Bonnie's grams told me and I was able to only shrug, not used to people thanking me about something like that.

What was I supposed to say? 'Oh! It was no big deal, Sheila, it only took me an entire day to dig in a grave so I could get you this. Whatever. It's a daily occurrence in my life.'

So you see that the shrug was the next best thing.

After that, I was out of the door.


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer

I do not own Vampire Diaries. The O.C. is my only original character.

This story will follow the series to some extend, there will be a lot of changes and you will find a partial O.O.C. here.

It will be rated **[M]** for future chapters and yes it will be a **Menage love story/P** **olygamous relationship** , if you don't like please don't read.

I welcome constructive criticism and if you would like to help me with that, please write me a P.M.

Big thanks to my Beta - Cici ( _DontMessWithUndertaker)_ for correcting this chapter! ^w^

 **[!]** Comments. Follows. Any kind of support is highly appreciated. No kidding, it does give the motivation to update faster!

* * *

Chapter 4

You would think I was crazy, right? Why would I ask Bonnie's grandma to leave the seal of the tomb and thus not letting Damon nor Stefan get out of it? When the older vampire entered the tomb to look for Katherine, he would take someone with him, me most likely, and Stefan being Stefan would go after us to make sure nothing bad happens. And they would find themselves in for a surprise.

No, I don't wish for either of them to be locked in there for the rest of their eternity, and because of that I made the deal with Sheila. She would free them few days later, when her powers were back and she would not risk her life. Damon would be murderous but I would deal with him somehow. The most important thing was to keep the witch breathing, and to kill all of the vampires locked in the tomb before they got out.

Now that Anna was dead, I had no one to meddle in my plan. But then you would question me – if I knew the black haired Salvatore would take me with him, I knew I would be locked in there with both brothers. So, I would be in danger, right? Yes, I would be but that is a risk that I'm willing to take. By changing so much in the plot I have to take care of the two vampires that would be left in town and what better way to do it then to have two or three days of alone time with them? I think...

Creepy? Yes.

Stupid? Yes.

Dangerous? Yes.

A big possibility of this biting me in the neck? Most definitely.

I was grateful for one thing, though. And that was Jeremy. He had no significant contact with Anna, now that he is going out with Lucy, so her death was not devastating for him in any kind of way. Not that he knew about it. But that was great news, because I wouldn't have to deal with a depressed and suicidal teen.

Elena was just as clueless as ever but I had no doubt she would soon be up to date with all this madness. Why? She was the doppelganger. And I was starting to gamble with her life. If she hadn't found out from someone already, she would soon. And the way I planned on butting her in this situation was something crazy and I might be hated for doing it…if anyone found out I was the one pulling the strings.

But all that will be in due time.

For now I had to go back in the Gilbert's house, prepare for tomorrow – a.k.a the opening of the tomb. Stefan would probably be in the Bennett's house, asking Grams for her help. Damon would be basking in the upcoming 'success' of getting out the love of his life. And I would be playing just as clueless as I have been for the past few months. At least I wouldn't have to pretend that I did not know about vampires.

One less secret to keep.

So while my two favorite vampires were doing what they were doing, I was in the kitchen preparing lunch. No school for me today. The siblings were there, oblivious to what was going to happen tomorrow. Bonnie hadn't called me yet, so there was a chance she still didn't know either.

Beluga was laying next to my legs, munching on a treat.

"Why you are not in school?" asked me this dimensional aunt, entering the room.

"Didn't feel like going." I answered and I was honest. She lifted a brow in question.

"Should I be worried?"

"Normally the guardian would be mad and start a lecture." I ginned and she shook her head in disbelieve by how laid back I was acting.

"Yes, normally, but you are not a normal teenager, Adelle." I nodded.

"I couldn't sleep well last night and thought it would be better to catch up on that than go to school and pretend I was paying attention." That was true to some extent as well. I would have never been able to listen to what the teachers were talking about. Jenna regarded me for a while, then she rolled her eyes and took a seat on one of the chairs, getting out her laptop.

"Would you make me a cup of tea?" she asked. I smiled and got to work. This woman was awesome, she trusted me with my own decisions. And that made me respect her even more.

When I was done with her vervain beverage, I got back on making lasagna. We were working on our own things in an easy silence, the only thing that could be heard was the tacking of a keyboard, my cooking, and the dog's shuffling. That was till the oldest Gilbert decided to say something.

"So what did your two guests last night want with you? I presume it was something important if they barged here in three in the morning." The spatula I had in my hands hit the floor and I almost fell over. Did she just..? When I turned around Jenna looked so nonchalant, like she was asking what the time was, not about the two men who were in her house at the most inappropriate time imaginable.

So we were not as quiet as I thought.

…

And that sounded way more perverted then it was supposed to, didn't it?

Yes.

Seriously, Add, what is up with you!?

"I…you see…" what could I possibly say to that? Yeah, I was good with making master plans and playing with all of these people's lives, but I could not think of an excuse for that? Come on, Adelle! Think!

Jenna probably saw how distressed I was acting so she took pity on me.

"Should I worry?" she asked.

"No, not at all, Jenna. I…look, I can't tell you what is this all about." She gave me a questioning look. Man, the Gilbert's guardian was getting better and better at this… guardianship thing. And I was on the receiving end of it.

Tch.

"Adelle..."

"I know it's strange, but they came to talk with me, I don't know why but those two decided to share with me some of their…past? If you could call it that, and..ugh…they needed someone to talk to, Jenna, and they chose me. Yes it was late, yes I might not be the best shrink out there or whatever, but they came to me, and I couldn't just shut the door in their faces." Not that it was an option, they were invited in. And let's face it, my answer to the Gilbert in the room was the closest thing to the truth that I could give her.

She was silent for a while, mulling over my words.

"I understand Stefan. You are friends and classmates. But Damon Salvatore? He is older than you." I nodded.

She had no idea.

"Yes, but while being around Stefan we became close…" Jenna send me a look. "Not like that!" I paused, God today I was lacking the ability to lie.

"So nothing happened?" I nodded. "You just talked?" one more nod from me. "At three in the morning?" eh...

"I know it sounds strange, but then again, I'm a strange person too." I grinned when Jenna scoffed, most likely agreeing with my statement.

"Okay, fine. I believe you." I grinned. Yes! "But if you need to talk with someone, or … you know, talk about boys problems like…" No! Didn't the Gilbert's already have 'the talk'? Why was she pushing it back on the table? And ugh… was Jenna thinking I was going out with one of them? What the…?

"Okay! Thank you, Jenna! I … I will do that, if I need it! Just, let's end this, before I explode! Please!" And true to my words my cheeks were as red as they could get. Jenna laughed at my embarrassment but none the less let it go. Thank you!

"No need to be so flustered about it, Addie, it's a normal thing in life…" or not.

"Jenna!" she laughed again and I was a step away from running out of the room.

"Okay, okay. By the way, how is the lasagna going?" I looked away from her and to the cooking meal in the oven. Shit! It was about to burn.

Ignoring the amusement of the Gilbert's aunt, who was more or less having a good laugh at how panicked I got, I tried to save the food.

Later, when I was done with cooking and was tidying up the kitchen, Jenna was still working on her laptop with Beluga on her lap, I got two massages.

 _'Adelle, is everything okay? I didn't see you in school. – Stefan_.' Gonna ignore that, this boy should stop with all of the angst bulshit. Can't a person just skip school?

Like seriously!

 _'We need to talk. Now! – Bonnie.'_

Oh… This one can't be brushed off so easily.

It looks like today wasn't going to be spend as calmly as I thought.

* * *

The plan to not get anywhere near school, didn't go so well. When the last class was over I was already there, in my car, waiting in the parking lot, praying that no teacher would see me, while waiting for the young witch to come. When she did show up, her whole body was tense and I knew right away that Sheila told her what was about to happen tomorrow. And she probably told her too that I had a bigger part in all of this then she ever thought.

Bonnie sat next to me, her face hard, not at all pleased, and stayed silent till we were off the school premises.

"Explain!" was the only thing she said. I sighed heavily. The glare she was sending me, not one bit helpful.

I would normally be annoyed by her tone, for fuck sake she was a powerful witch, have some grace! But then I looked carefully at her. The girl next to me was nervous, she was scared and till now had to deal with keeping a secret from her best friends that the new comers in town were actually blood suckers. Then out of no where her Grams tells her that I knew about it all along.

I would be mad too.

"I found out that Stefan and Damon were vampires after reading the Gilbert's journals." I spared her a look, but then averted my eyes to the road, we were going on a little trip. "I had been giving everyone vervain so that they could not be compelled. But I never told anyone because no one would believe me." I continued. She wanted to say something but I was not finished. "I'm sorry that I didn't say anything, but it was because of this that I pushed you even harder to talk with your Grams."

"So you knew that I knew, but kept quiet." She asked me.

"Yes, and I was aware that both Salvatore's were up to date with your knowledge, too."

"And you just left me feel alone and … and scared for all of you that you were communicating with monsters! I was so worried, Adelle!" the witch exclaimed and I winced, understanding what she must have gone through. Every day she would see Stefan being friends with me and Elena, and because it was in her nature she would hate him and be scared of him and scared for us.

"I didn't want to expose myself…"

"What changed then?" she asked.

"Both Damon and Stefan paid me a visit." And then I told her what had happened yesterday, how they outed themselves, made me their buffer and told me about their plan and past. Of course I skipped the whole thing where I knew all about it already. But when I was done with talking, the young Bennett was up to date with what was going on.

"So you were never friends with Stefan?" I shook my head.

"No we are friends. He might be an ex-ripper and both of them have killed many, but I can't judge them for what they did in the past. I would only do that for what they do now. In this moment. And Stefan has been nothing but kind and protective." I explained. The girl next to me was silent for a moment, thinking over what I told her, and I could see that she understood what I meant. It was hard hating Stefan, even if he was a serial killer...well… in the past. All one would want now was to hug him and help him stop brooding.

"I know what you mean, Addie. He might be a vampire and I as a witch have this strong unexplainable bad feeling engraved in my being, but I don't feel any threat or danger from him. He is good. But Damon…"

Damn.

That would be one hard thing to explain to her.

"Bonnie, Damon has been hurt. And I know that this does not excuse his actions, but imagine being in his place. You love somebody with your whole being, knowing she played you with your brother, but you still loved her. Then you become a vampire, and all of your emotions go crazy. You feel so much more and it's too hard, being left and having to wait to free the woman you want for more then hundred and sixty years. And let's not forget your brother forcing you to become immortal." She sucked in a breath. It was easier to make her feel bad for Damon, when he hasn't tried to kill her. She might not end up hating him.

"But still…"

"I am far from pardoning his actions, Bonnie, but it must have been too much for him. It would be for anyone, and so he turned it off." She looked at me, not understanding. "He feels nothing, Bonnie, that's why he doesn't care if he hurts somebody or kills dozens of people. He has no remorse."

"So, he could kill any of us, without caring?" I'm not sure about this one but I still nodded. "Oh my God! We have to stop him!"

"Bonnie, you don't understand. I want to help him, I want him to turn it back on. If he does, he would still be a bastard and a very annoying, sarcastic vampire, but he will not be the monster you see now."

"But why would you want to do something like that, Adelle?" Bonnie couldn't see it, she couldn't understand, but at least it was good that she wasn't so fervently against it.

"Because he is Stefan's brother. Because I know how much I love my sister, how I would do anything for my family Bonnie and I would forgive everything just so I could be with them. I want to help not only one of them, I want to help both. I want to restore their brotherhood, prove to them that this is the most sacred thing in the world." I stared at her, willing her to see my point, hoping that she did. We were parked in the town near Mystic Falls, where I heard there was a vegan cafe and I wanted to check it out. What better time then now, when both Bonnie and I needed a time out for a moment.

I got outt and she followed me. Locking the door we silently made our way. As I searched for the shop she was deep in thought after what I told her. Looking back down at my phone, I had google maps on and I was thankful that my orientation skills were getting better. Soon we were in front of the building where Jenna told me the best vegan desserts were sold. She had become interested in my diet after she saw how easy and delicious I cooked my meals. It was healthy and good for the environment, and let's be honest I had to somehow buy my way out of the big sin I was creating by being friends with a vampire that ate the animals I wanted to protect and another vampire that ate everything else.

Was I succeeding? Not at all, but it helped me sleep better at night.

We sat at a table and one of the staff gave us two menus. My God! There was such a variety here! I giggled a little and it wasn't as silently as I thought because Bonnie send me an amused look.

"What? Look how many things they have here!" I grinned.

"And most of them, I have no idea what they might be." Confessed the witch.

"Let me order for you too, then?" I proposed. "I am thinking of getting at least three or four things so we could try them and see which is best!" Bonnie smiled, amused by how giddy I was but none the less let me do what I wanted. After ordering we were left alone once again, and this time when I looked at Bonnie she had a serious expression on her face.

"I understand, Adelle, and even if I am far from okay with what you are doing, I am not entirely against it." I smiled even more, yes! "But, if Damon or Stefan do something, hurt any of you, I would not hesitate, Addie." I knew she was serious, I could see it in her big eyes. But it was better then stopping her from wanting to kill the brothers every time she saw them.

"Thank you, Bonnie." She nodded.

"It's not your business to help everyone, Adelle."

"I know that and you should rest assure that this is not what I want or intend on doing." Like I said a long time ago, I don't know the reason I was sent into this dimension, but I was not going to play the sacrificial goat or the knight in shining armor by trying to save everyone. I didn't care about half the people here, but I had placed one main goal while I was here – help Stefan and Damon become the brothers that they once were. And if that meant being locked in a tomb with them for a few days, or letting innocent people die, then so be it.

I never said I was a good person like Elena.

If I cared about someone, I would help. If not? I had no problem with that.

Did I care about the Salvatore's? Maybe. Don't know to what extent, but till I got back to my sister, I would at least try and save their relationship. Elena not getting in between them being the first successful step in this whole thing.

"Here you go, ladies." I was shocked out of my stupor by the waiter who was now placing our food on the table. Ohh! Yumm! I was so engrossed in the heaven in front of me that I almost missed out on the little blush that graced the cheeks of the witch. Or the way the boy, that turned out to be close to our age, smiled kindly at her, not even sparing me a glance. Hmm.

"Thank you… Sam." I grinned at him. His eyes finally turned towards me and I barely held back a chuckle. "Isn't he nice, Bonnie?" the girl herself became scarlet red and send me a warning look, but I couldn't care less about that. He was cute, and Bonnie in the series needed more male attention then she got. For fucks sake, she was gorgeous!

"Ah.. yeah, thank you." She mumbled. Cute!

"No problem." He laughed a little embarrassed, scratching the back of his neck. "Enjoy. If you need anything, call me."

"Oh, we will, Sam. We will." I then looked pointedly from him to my friend and back at the boy. Aw!

When he left, the witch was ready to throw fire.

"Addie! What was that all about!" she whispered – yelled. Sheesh!

"Calm down, woman! You were so ogling at him and he was definitely checking you out!" I exclaimed maybe louder then I should, catching some of the attention of the people that sat near us, but who cared?

Look at her! She was all red!

Hahah!

"Adelle!" I rolled my eyes, seeing how she leaned lower on her seat. Jeez.

"Stop it, Bonnie, just admit it."

"Okay, fine, he was not bad." I rolled my eyes once again. She glared at me, warning me to keep quiet.

Like hell.

"If you don't get his number by the end of our stay, I will do it in your place and we both know that I would embarrass you greatly." I grinned evilly at how her face paled.

"But… Addie… I …"

"Bonnie Bennett, you are beautiful and guys fall all over you whenever you try just a little. Why would you not want to go out with Sam? He is cute and sweet, for all I could see -interested too. Why hold back?" I asked. Pushing her a little more.

"I…but…with all that is going on right now, I don't think I have time for dating, Addie." She tried to explain.

"All the more reasons for you to go out with someone and just have few hours of normalcy. If it goes well, then cool. You could go out more, have a good time and have a breath of the craziness in Mystic Falls. If not, then at least you tried. Don't stop living just because we have some blood suckers as fellow citizens." I grinned cheekily and kept it there even when she sent me an annoyed look.

"Fine, okay." I cheered and received an eye roll. Ignoring that, I jumped in separating the deserts in two, so we could both try them.

Of course, not before taking pictures. You see - Luca, my camera, was as always with me and apart from photographing people, I loved taking pictures of food. Yep.

It's that simple.

And let's be honest, just because I was in the middle of a crazy situation, that didn't mean I would stop doing the normal stuff I did when I was back home. I still remember every time I would go out with my family or friends to eat. We would order, and everyone was so used to my antics, that they would not even bat an eyelash. They all knew that no one was to touch the food before I had taken a few shots of it.

That was the rule. And no one had the guts to say no to me.

Heh.

Bonnie didn't know that of course, but she would learn, sooner or later, too. We spent two hours in total there, eating, talking, going over the plan for tomorrow. I called Sam a few times, asking stupid questions but by doing that I was giving them an opportunity to talk for a while. When we were ready to leave, I let her have some alone time with him, as I went out and waited for her. The witch would get it if she didn't come out of there with his number, though!

While I stood there and watched people pass by, my phone rang.

Damon.

"Hello, dear blood sucking friend of mine! With what could I assist you today?" I joked a little, but we both knew I was still a little annoyed about him and his brother making me a buffer in their … fight? Who knew?

" _Well, aren't you a ray of sunshine this afternoon?_ " the vampire answered sarcastically and I could almost see the roll of his blue eyes. " _Where are you?_ "

"Why? Has something happened?" I answered his question with one of my own.

" _Adelle, I'm not joking, where are you?_ " What was up with his grumpy ass? " _Stefan said you were not in school, your bff hasn't seen you and you aren't at home._ " Did he search all over town for me?

"I'm not in Mystic Falls, Damon."

" _Why? Where are you?_ "

"None of your business." Yes, it was stupid to push him, but he never said that I had to be at his beck and call.

" _Adelle_ …" Did he just growl at me?

"Damon, I told you once before. I don't ask you what you are doing, and you don't ask me." There was a low chuckle on the other side.

" _That went out of the window after last night, sweet Adelle. You are to tell me everything._ " Was he serious?

"Fuck you, Damon! I owe you nothing, I can do whatever I want. Just because I agreed to try and stop you and your brother from killing each other, that does not mean you could meddle in my business or try to control me!" I almost shouted, who does he think he is?

" _If you are not in the boarding house in one hour, I would worry if I were you. You don't want me to get moody, do you?_ " He asked sarcastically, but the menace was evident.

"For fuck sake! Are you going to threaten to kill someone each time something doesn't go the way you want?"

" _Why not?_ " he chuckled. Oh how much I wanted to hit him right about now! " _You know too much, Adelle. And even if I knew that you would stop dear Stefan from stabbing me in the back, I would still not risk it._ "

"Yeah, yeah, you are too close to opening the tomb, getting what you want. I agreed to help, to assist, with whatever you believe a human could do, actually. But you can forget it if you think you can make me do anything else, Salvatore. I'm no puppet, I have things to do, a life to live and secrets to share with whoever the fuck I want to! I'll be in the boarding house in an hour. So hold your horses." I grumbled at the end.

" _The more you do that, Adelle, the more you just make me want to figure you out._ " I rolled my eyes.

"Good luck."

" _I don't need luck, sweet Adelle, I just need time. And trust me, I always get what I want._ " I could literally feel the smirk that was gracing his lips.

"But you don't have time, Damon. After tomorrow, you will get what you came here for and leave. Remember? There is nothing holding you back, no?" it was my turn to smirk, gotcha! He had no idea what awaited him.

There was a pause. The vampire said nothing, realizing that my words were true. "And let's be honest. If I don't want you to know, you never will, Damon."

I saw Bonnie exiting the shop, she was coming towards me and I didn't feel like explaining who was I talking to and neither did I want Damon knowing with who I was at the moment. It was fun making him guess and wonder and get annoyed.

Not gonna deny that.

"See you in an hour, Salvatore." I didn't let him say anything, ending the call the second I said those words. Most definitely getting on his nerves.

Good! The idiot deserved it.

"How did it go?" I asked Bonnie, by the grin on her face I already had my answer, but I sure did want the details.

"We exchanged numbers, and have a date this Monday night." That was in three days counting today.

"Not bad, dear witch, not bad!" I grinned. She rolled her eyes but none the less continued to tell me what did they had been taking about for so long.

When we were back in Mystic Falls, I parked in front of her house and Bonnie was getting her things, ready to go. Before she opened the door, she looked back at me, smiling.

"Thank you for today, Addie, I needed it." I waved her of. "And for you know…pushing me to go and talk with Sam." She blushed a little.

Aweh!

"Don't mention it, Bonnie." I grinned, feeling happy about how laid back her whole posture was in comparison to the rigid one she had when I got her from school.

"I hope everything goes okay tomorrow." She whispered and I nodded.

"See you tomorrow night, Bonnie." I smiled, trying to be reassuring.

* * *

I was late. Late by twenty minutes and if I didn't feel so accomplished with the food I ate and getting Bonnie a date, I would be scared shitless. Standing in front of the boarding house, made me see the view of the setting sun. I hadn't knocked on the door though, I just stood there. There was no reason for me to do that, you see. The two inside were vampires, meaning they had heard me parking my car five minutes ago. So I just waited, once again testing the patience of the older Salvatore inside.

Call me crazy but I was feeling way too good, and just remembering how this annoying man had ordered me around, made my blood boil. So in my own childish way, I sat on the front steps, my back facing the entrance and I kept on staring at the sky.

A minute passed.

Then another one.

I barely held back the smirk when the door flung open and Damon Salvatore swooped in front of me. Because he was standing, I had to look up at him and prayed to God that the nonchalant facade I was keeping didn't fall down and get replaced by a satisfied grin.

Hold it in, Addie.

Hold it!

But damn, if his annoyed expression didn't make me want to laugh.

Maybe I did have a death wish...

"What the hell are you doing here?" the vampire finally asked me. Now that I got a better look at him, he was wearing all black like usual, but the smirk that usually graced his features was replaced with a scowl, showing how angry he was with me. Just then I heard Stefan coming out as well.

"Adelle, why are you sitting there?" I rolled my eyes, not missing the twitch in Damon's jaw.

"Well, Stefan, your dear brother here ordered me to show up. And here I am." I told the younger man, not turning around to see him, still staring at the black haired vampire.

"Yes, I told you one hour. You are late, and standing outside." He stated and I scoffed.

"Well, you both knew I have been here for the past ten minutes, but neither of you came out. Knocking is just too boring." I smiled cheekily, seeing how Damon's hands balled in fists. Well, he was sure as hell not pleased.

"And you just sat down here?" Stefan asked, trying to understand. He came to stand next to his annoyed brother. He was just a little bit closer to me, and Damon threw him a look, probably sensing that his posture screamed defensive. He was expecting the older Salvatore to spring up at me.

"Not that I have anything against your home, it's beautiful, but I'm in the mood to stay outside. I hope that you don't mind." I smirked when Damon's eyes rolled, Stefan giving us both a look. He probably thought that I have lost it.

Whatever.

"I do mind actually. Get your ass up, and get in the house, Adelle." Damon said, pretending that I wasn't getting on his nerves. Hah.

"Once again trying to order me around, Damon?" I tsked, shaking my head in aggravation.

"I'm not joking around, you have three seconds." He stated, ignoring the warning glare Stefan gave him. I stared right back at him, leaning back to get comfortable on the steps while looking bored. Sue me, I wanted to see how far he would go.

And seriously? I have three seconds?

Did he think I was five?

What the hell!?

"Three." Said the vampire, looking at me carefully, waiting for me to stand up and do as I was told.

None of that happened.

"Two." Stefan now came closer but I waved him off. I didn't need his protection, I was no damsel in distress.

"Damon, stop it." The younger brother tried to do something but was ignored. Damon's blue eyes never left mine. I was silently challenging him, pushing his buttons, playing with his nerves. I had no doubt many had done this and had ended up dead, but the vampire in front of me didn't look furious, or murderous. He actually seemed amazed, studying me. Maybe I wasn't the only one that was waiting to see how he would react.

He was testing me.

And I had no idea if I was passing or failing. What would I win? Or better yet what would happen if I lost?

Eh..

I arched my brow, showing him that I would not back down.

"One."

I grinned. He smirked. Then there was nothing but air where he last stood, two feet away from me. Before I could question it, Stefan blurred as well, grabbing me by the hand, making me stand up. Then I felt his arm circling around my waist and my breath caught, when he pushed me towards his body and then the whole world became a blur.

It lasted less than a second. My eyes focused on the front door that we had stopped in front of.

"Adelle, get in the house." He said, staring down at me. Surprisingly he didn't look scared or panicked, he visibly thought that Damon would not hurt me, wherever he was right now. But the ex-ripper still felt uneasy about what Damon could do.

"Too late brother." Came a whisper and Stefan was pushed back, his body flying. I had no time for any kind of reaction, as another hand placed itself around my waist and I was once again blurred with super speed.

When my eyes focused I found myself on the rooftop. Damon stood in front of me, a smirk on his face, his eyes shining with a predatory gleam. I looked behind me.

I was on the very end of the roof, and with my gracefulness I would have fallen over if the vampire's hand wasn't keeping me balanced. When my head was once again turned towards Damon, I finally realized that my body was flush against his. I had to look up, so I could keep staring at his eyes.

"You will do whatever I say." He stated.

"No." was my blunt reply.

"No?" I could feel the rumble of his chest when he chuckled.

"No." I nodded.

"You do it, or I'll drop you." He said, but his voice didn't hold any menace.

"Damon, let her go!" Shouted Stefan, Who was standing just below us.

"What do you say, sweet Adelle?" the vampire that was clutching me to his body asked. I really looked at him. He was serious. The vampire in him wanted control, and I was doing everything to oppose him. In a split second I made my decision.

"Then drop me." The surprise was evident. He couldn't believe I said that. I didn't either. I was terrified of heights, and he most certainly felt it, by how hard my hands were gripping his and by how fast my heart was beating.

"You don't believe I will do it?" Damon asked. I shook my head.

"You don't believe me when I say that I would never let you control or order me around. So drop me, because I will not back off." I fired.

"Adelle!" growled Stefan in disbelief.

Damon stared at me, his eyes searching my face, looking for a sign I was joking. That I was bluffing. But I wasn't and to prove it, I willed myself to let go of him, and step back, one leg dangling in the air. His blue irises became large, his hold on me almost bruising now.

"Are you crazy!? Damon take her down from there. Now!" shouted Stefan. I could hear the panic in his voice. But my eyes never left the blue ones, that held such wonder that it made me breathless. Or was it the adrenaline? Or the knowledge that I was really willing to jump off the roof to prove a point?

Where was this bravery coming from?

"You are terrified." He said, once again trying to read me, to understand me. I nodded.

"If I'm scared of one thing, it is heights." I explained, my voice quivering in the end. I had to will my whole body not to move, for my hands not to hold onto the vampire for dear life.

"Damon!" growled Stefan, sounding enraged. And if I looked down at him I was sure that I would find the face of the Ripper that was on the verge of tearing out Damon's throat.

"Let's go." Sighed the vampire, stepping away from the edge, bringing me with him. I would have smiled in relief but I felt like he was doing it only because he thought of me as a scared girl that was stupid enough to make false threats.

"No." I shook my head. Damon's head snapped towards me.

"What do you mean, no?" he asked.

"I will jump, Damon." His hold was now a death grip around my mid section. "Call me crazy, stupid or whatever, but you are letting this go just because you think I'm too naïve, too scared. I don't want your pity, I want you to respect me and in turn for you to trust me. This is not the way to do it, I am well aware, but it is a start and it will show you just how serious I am." I told him, laying my hands on his and trying to push him away.

"Adelle, don't…" he stared. His face was now a mask, hiding whatever he was feeling.

"Let go of me, Damon." I said, and I have never been more serious then I was in that moment. His stone features betrayed nothing, but his arms slowly let their grip loosen..

"Adelle, what the hell are you doing?" Only now did I look away from the dark blue eyes of Damon. Stefan stood just few steps behind us and the look on his face would freeze anyone in place. I have never seen him this furious, not while being here or when I watched him on the TV.

"I'm proving a point. To both of you actually." I said and that made his green eyes enlarge.

"Both of us? What do you mean both of us?" He growled and I had to stop myself from going to him and hugging him. Stefan looked hurt, like he didn't believe I could think he would want me to jump from a roof top.

"You asked me to be a buffer, to make sure that neither of you would betray the other or pull something behind his back. I agreed, but what I intend on doing is not being the girl who stopped you from killing each other. I want to be the girl that makes you realize the power between siblings, the bond between brothers. I intend to show you what real love is and thus making it impossible for a woman like Katherine to come between you. Call me whatever you want, but I would do whatever it takes on making this happen." I took a deep breath, looking from one brother to the other, both struck by awe and disbelieve. Smiling softly, I stepped back. "But first I have to gain both of your trust. Both of your respect."

I let my body relax and leaned back. The next few seconds happened both so fast and painfully slow. I was flying towards the bottom, to the space right opposite of the front door, that started this whole dispute.

I would have screamed, but my heart stuck itself in my throat. My whole body was paralyzed by the weightlessness I felt. The feeling was terrifying as much as it was strikingly amazing.

Just like how I felt whenever I was in the presence of the Salvatore brothers.

But then it was over. I was going to crash down if it wasn't for two strong arms that caught me. My eyes focused immediately, I found myself once again in the hands of Damon, but this time he was holding my whole body in a bride like way. He had super sped from the roof to the first floor, where he had caught me before I would most probably have killed myself.

His grip was strong, once again bruising, but it was different too. It felt like he was holding me so firmly to make sure that I was really there in his arms, safe.

My breathing was hard, I was taking deep intakes of air, my heart was beating so fast that I wasn't going to be surprised if it burst out of my chest. But none of it mattered, because I was in trance. Loosing myself in the swirling dark almost black eyes of the raven haired vampire that stared at me so intensely that it made my skin burn, wherever it was in contact with his.

But his hands were not the only ones that held me. I looked from where he stood on my left side to my right, were Stefan was just as near me, looking just as intense as his brother. His fingers were snaking all over my shoulders and my legs, like he was desperately reassuring himself that I was okay, that he and Damon had made it in time to catch me when I fell.

It didn't matter who had got to me first, what made my heart swell with so much emotion was that they had both come after me. And I knew.

I just knew.

That while Damon had sped from the roof and waited so he could catch me, Stefan had drove right in, after me.

A giggle escaped from my lips. Then another. It slowly transformed in to a full blown out laugh. My body was shaking from how hard I was laughing.

Damon let me stand on my feet, but neither he or Stefan, stepped away. The adrenaline was beating hard through my being. I had been so scared, but now when my legs were firmly on the ground, all I felt was excitement, happiness, accomplishment.

"Wow." I whispered, putting a hand over my chest, exactly where I could now easily feel my heart beating. "You can hear it right? My heart. I… I… wow. This was…" I had no words.

I was left speechless. But Stefan wasn't.

"Don't do that ever again." He said in a low voice, his green eyes just as dark as Damon's. His right hand came up and threaded itself through my hair, bringing my face closer as his descended down towards me. His forehead touched mine and the vampire breathed in, closing his orbs, brows scrunching like it was painful for him. "Please, Adelle, never do that again." He whispered.

I would have said no, I would have protested, but his voice cracked in the end, and for a moment, Stefan seemed almost afraid, almost broken, all of this because for a moment I could have died.

Slowly I nodded, not knowing what I should do next. When he pulled away, his gaze turned towards Damon who stood behind us. I turned to him and smiled a little, not surprised to see that he had composed himself and now all I saw was a stoic expression.

Then he glared.

I shrugged.

He didn't believe I would do it, but I did and now Damon had no idea what to think about it all.

Ah, Damon, Damon, can't you see? You will never figure me out, if I don't want you to. But then again, I made my reasons pretty clear.

I have made my decision. I would heal both of them, I would heal their brotherhood.

Now they were aware of it too.

Did they think it was possible? That I could make it happen?

It didn't matter.

Because I will.

One way or another.

This was my warning. My heads up.

And they knew it.

"Let's go inside." Were the first words that Damon said, eyes never leaving mine and I smiled even more because in comparison to the last time, he didn't order me. He didn't command me.

"It is getting cold out here." I nodded and headed towards the front door. Before I stepped in, I bent down and picked up the box that I left there when I came. When in the parlor, I sat on the couch near the fireplace that was always working and grinned at how cozy I felt. Stefan took the seat opposite of me, while Damon went to the bar and, no surprise there, took the bourbon and two glasses with him.

We didn't speak about what happened outside, but it didn't escape my notice when Stefan took the offered beverage with little hesitation.

Eh? I drove the bunny eater to drinking.

Nice.

"We are opening the tomb tomorrow night." started the raven haired vampire.

I faked surprise, like I didn't know about it all along.

"I talked with Sheila and she agreed to do the spell and let us in." But she never agreed to let you out, did she?

"What is my part in this?" I played oblivious.

"I don't trust the witch. But she will not pull any stunts, or risk her granddaughter, while I'm in there if you come with me." Damon elaborated. I held back an eye roll. How wrong you were, Salvatore. Stefan mistook my silence as being unsure or something because he said,

"I know that this is too much to ask from you, Adelle. And believe me, I don't want you anywhere near that place, but…" Damon interrupted him.

"Neither of you have a choice. Stefan and I made a deal, we will be even if he assists me with this. Including you. And you, sweet Adelle, want me to trust you, so you shouldn't have any problem with going along with this." Stefan glared at him. Damon smirked.

He was going to play it like that, huh? Pretending the stricken face and the relief I saw on his features when he caught me, were never there.

Fine.

Idiot. Unfeeling idiot.

"I will do it. At least you gave me a heads up." I smirked cheekily. Not showing how annoyed I was to see that he was putting up a front once again. "What about the rest of the vampires in the tomb?"

"I will burn them when no one else is near." Explained Stefan.

Hah. Not.

There would be no burning of anything tomorrow night.

"Well, okay. Is there something else, or can I proceed with giving you my gift and going home?" I asked.

Both brothers gave me looks before their eyes trailed down to the box I was holding. Not able to stop the grin from forming on my face, I continued.

"You see, I got you deserts."

"Food? You brought food?" Stefan asked, No doubt questioning my actions once more. "You do know that we don't need to eat actual food, right Adelle?" I rolled my eyes.

"I am well aware of that, Stefano! But I got the chance to eat this heaven today and thought, why not share some with you?" The cheekiness in my voice probably sounded like I was about to pull a prank on them and they sensed it too. Damon's eyes narrowed a fraction.

"Just give it here." He said and I did. He had been standing the whole time, so when he got the box, the other vampire in the room stood up too, wanting to have a better look at what I got them.

Damon lifted the lid off, allowing you to see two portions of one yummy cake.

"Chocolate cake?" Stefan questioned. I nodded, and because I couldn't help it, a giggle escaped my lips.

"A chocolate Vegan cake, that is." I explained. "Raw. No animal products used. And most importantly, gluten free."

One.

Two.

…

Three.

"What the hell?" exclaimed Damon, pushing the deserts into the hands of his brother and sending me a disbelieving look. "Vegan? Gluten free?"

I was laughing. Full on laughing.

Their faces! Their shocked faces!

No. No. Too much!

Hahhhahaha!

"Get it? Vampires? One eating animals, while the other everything else? And I…I…" I was trying to talk but it was so hard to breath. My sides hurt by how much I was laughing. "And I …I give you a vegan cake as a gift!"

Soon after, Stefan's amazed face turned in to a smile. He was chuckling lowly and I wasn't sure if he was so hipped up from the bizarreness of the whole situation, or he was amused by how much delight I found in it.

Damon shook his head, looking up at the ceiling, most probably questioning my sanity. Then he gazed at me, shook his head once more before a small crooked smile placed itself on his lips.

"If you don't try it, both of you will be cowards." I taunted and laughed some more.

What?

I have been waiting for this from the moment I got the idea at the shop.

"No, we will be smart." Scoffed Damon, looking at the cake like it had offended him.

I rolled my eyes and stood up. Knowing that they most likely would not try the desert, I decided it was time to go.

"It's your choice." I shrugged. "I'm guessing that tomorrow night one of you will contact me or come and get me?"

"You won't miss a thing, sweet Adelle." Smirked the raven haired vampire.

Didn't I know that already…

* * *

When I was back in the Gilbert house, I wasted no time in going to the kitchen and placing the other four pieces of the vegan cake in the fridge. Jenna and Elena were already there and asked me how my day has been.

"Oh, you know…the usual." Yeah, if by the usual I mean getting the Bennett witch a date, jumping from a roof top, conspiring on opening a tomb full with vengeful vampires and then giving a cake to the Salvatore's…

Pretty normal.

Not.

"Where is Jeremy?" I asked and finally noticed that Beluga was not there to greet me.

"Out with Beluga." Jenna.

"Using him to talk to Lucy." Elena.

Cheeky brat!

I was the only one that could use the puppy for anything remotely like scheming.

Tch.

After that, we ate dinner and because I had nothing better to do, tomorrow being Saturday, I went in the living room and for the first time while being in this dimension, turned the TV on and started to check out if the channels I knew were here. And yes, CW was real here too, all of the shows were here as well…

Except the vampire diaries.

Oh well.

Later, I heard the front door being open. There were paws screeching on the floor and out of no where white fur ball of energy leaped at me.

"Beluga!" I exclaimed, happy to see the puppy that was wagging his tail in excitement. "Did the little brat annoy you too much?" I asked and ignored the 'hey!' that came out from the kitchen. Jeremy then came in, sending me a glare to which I rolled my eyes and sat next to me. In his hands he had a plate with tonight's dinner and as I was distracted with the dog, he took the remote easily from my hold.

Brat. He not only stole it, but is eating the vegan food I made, which in the beginning he looked at with disgust.

"Hey!" I grumbled. I was already watching something, but he ignored me entirely and changed it to something else. The show wasn't bad so I shut up and kept on watching. Beluga now laying on my lap. When Jenna and Elena joined us a minute later I became aware of how domesticated all of this was and I was a step away from bolting out of there.

I was no part of this family.

But then I saw how calm Jeremy was. How happy Elena was, and how Jenna was trying but failing to hide her grin. So I let it be.

Only for one night.

It wouldn't change anything, right?

* * *

"So where is this tomb?" I asked from my seat in the car.

I already knew, but none the less acted like I was clueless.

Stefan sat next to me driving, and the whole five minutes I was in there were silent and very awkward for me. I spent the entire day with Tyler; he had practice with the team and I just stood near, taking pictures, soaking in the last rays of sunshine for the year. Then we had lunch together, talking nonsense and just having a good time. This guy was my friend and I felt very close to him. The wolf was the first person in this dimension that I felt I could open up to, like he would understand me.

Almost like my best friend from my world. But she was not here and I had to work with what I had.

Till I got back, that is.

The younger Salvatore had picked me up from Tyler's house and I was not surprised to see him so tense and brooding. But it did make me question why he was so set on not saying a word to me.

"Stefan? Is everything okay?" I tried again and the moment I said it I knew it was a stupid question.

The vampire spared me a look. One hard look, if I may say, green eyes roaming over my face and for a second I saw how they softened, though only for a moment. Then he was back on ignoring me.

"Okay, cut the bullshit, Salvatore, What are you? Five?" I asked annoyed, huffing a bit after that. I would have kept my act if the car didn't screech to a stop and I was thankful that I had my seat belt on. "What the hell?" I exclaimed but quickly shut up when I saw how intensely the vampire looked at me.

"I want you nowhere near this place, Addie. Every part of my being screams to get you as far away as possible!" he almost growled and I choked my own saliva.

I was trapped in his eyes, where I could find desperation, worry, anger.

Tenderness.

The vampire really meant it.

"I know, Stefan..." but he didn't let me finish, shaking his head.

"No, Adelle, you really have no idea." he almost whispered and I felt my skin getting hotter.

It was one thing to watch this amazing, kind, and gorgeous man on TV. But it was different to be next to him, so close and have him looking at me in that way. His voice was so low and husky that I wasn't surprised by my bodies reaction. What did you expect me to do?

Huh?

I had control, but not that much. And entering this universe, I had a huge crush on this man, which slowly developed into something more. The more I got to know him, the more time I spend with him. And that was what I was afraid of, because I knew that it could happen and I knew that I would be hopeless in stopping it. But I was still fighting.

Because the distance I had to keep from him and his brother was essential in order for me to have a clear head and do what I had planned on doing.

Because I knew that I couldn't tell neither of them the whole truth.

Because one day, I would go back to my own world and when the time came, I didn't want to leave with a broken heart. Not when I knew very well that no matter what happened here I would always choose my family.

My sister. My father. My mother.

I took a deep breath and lifted my hand, placing it slowly on his cheek, waiting for him to push me away or to flinch away from it. But Stefan did none of those things. He leaned in, closing his eyes and letting out a sigh. We were closer now, separated only by the shift. I was facing him completely.

"I know that you are worried, Stefan, and honestly, I am too." My fingers caressed his eyebrow and that made his eyes open once more, darker than before. I fought to keep my voice steady and to not react by the intensity of the situation, by how personal it was. The man in front of me needed reassurance. "You might not see it, but you are doing the right thing. I agreed to this and yesterday I told you that it wasn't just because I wanted to stop you and Damon from killing each other." I intended on pulling my hand away but his quickly stopped any movement, by placing it over mine. His skin was cold but it soothed my burning one, creating the perfect combination.

And I felt calm. Whole.

"You could get hurt, Adelle." the vampire said, voicing his fears.

"But you wouldn't let that happen, would you?" he vigorously shook his head.

"Never." I smiled a little, his declaration making my stomach feel like it was a nest of a hundred butterflies.

This man. He was going to be the death of me.

"And I am capable of protecting myself too. It might be dangerous, but you said it yourself. Not a single tomb vampire will get out." I tried to reassure him. I could see that his whole posture was tense, but it wasn't as much as before I made him stop the car. "And think about it. After tonight, you will get a clean slate, you and Damon will be even."

I knew that it would take a lot more than this in order for them to be brothers again and to forgive each other, but it was a start. By stopping the whole 'Stefan trying to destroy the grimoire and stabbing Damon', the older brother had no real reason to distrust the younger Salvatore so completely. There was no Elena, no vervain, no Caroline problem, no betrayal.

And I would keep it that way. I would prevent anything that could destroy their fragile truce.

"Do you believe he means it?" Stefan asked, his fingers were laced with mine as they lay on his lap now, his thumb was slowly going over my knuckles like this action was soothing his nerves.

"I hope he does. I hope that after tonight he will not hold any of this over your head, Stefan, but I think that you both should have a talk, should go over everything. You have to explain to him why you made him turn, as well as apologize for going after Katherine." He winced at my words.

"You…you think that this is all my fault?"

"No. Of course not, it's both of you that made mistakes, that decided to step over your brotherly bound for a woman. Damon should realize it too. But that will not happen if you don't have one serious talk." I explained.

The vampire was silent, contemplating my words.

"But he will disappear after tonight." I shook my head. He had no idea.

"So make him listen, before he leaves, Stefan."

I looked at my watch and saw that we had no more time.

"We should get going." I said and the vampire nodded begrudgingly, visibly not liking it.

"I will try." He said after a moment when we were back on the road. "I will talk with Damon. You are right, Adelle." I grinned, nodding.

Of course I'm right!

Both Salvatore's should get used to it.

Hah.

Once we were there, the witches were already preparing their spell. Damon was sitting near them, watching like a hawk to make sure they did nothing wrong. His blue orbs snapped in our direction the second he sensed our arrival. I expected a smirk or a sarcastic comment but none came. As we walked towards them I could see his eyes never leaving my form. I tried to not be affected by it, but my body still tensed a little from the intense stare I was under.

Sheila was the next to see us. She nodded to both of us, but I could sense that she was far from happy to be here.

Bonnie was the last one and she reacted the most. When she saw us, she leaped out of her place next to her Grams and ran towards me, engulfing me in a tight hug.

"Thank you for doing this, Bon." I said lowly, knowing that the brothers could still hear us. I didn't care.

"I just want this to be over with." The little witch said after pulling away. I nodded in agreement.

"Are you okay?" But before she could answer me, a voice stopped her.

"Let's get back to work!" Damon stood near us now, ignoring the glare both Bennett's sent him. I knew that he was acting relaxed and in control but I had already spend too much time with him. It was clear to me that he was nervous too, anticipating the sight of Katherine.

"Let them talk, Damon." Stefan stepped in, and I saw a fight coming but thankfully Sheila stopped it.

"We are ready. I will need the crystal and we can open the tomb." She said. Damon's eyes never left mine but still he nodded.

We stepped in the tomb, and I was careful not to fall on the slippery steps, because that would totally ruin the intense mood. The whole thing was so surreal, it was cold, dark and scary. Definitely not somewhere I would like to be. But none the less I stayed quiet.

Damon gave her the crystal and stepped back a little, giving space to the witches. I was on the other side of them, Stefan not leaving me for a moment.

"How is this going to work?" I asked.

"We say the spell, and using the crystal like a key we will open the tomb." Said the older Bennett. I nodded.

In the previous time, they didn't have the necklace, and instead of a 'key' to unlock it, they had to push it, using too much magic. Now it was safer, easier. Sheila would not die from it. Bonnie would not be devastated. She would not loose her powers, would not resort to dark magic, and would not hate Damon or Stefan with such intensity.

Soon the chanting started, and the space was illuminated with light and I could feel the magic going around us. It was breathtaking to witness such a display of power and to be so close to it.

I almost felt jealous of them.

I was so preoccupied by it that I almost missed Damon coming to stand on my other side, or Stefan tensing up and glaring at his brother. The big rock slowly started to move then but the vibration of my phone caught my attention. I pulled it out and saw that Jenna had called twice and now Jeremy was searching for me.

This morning I had told them that I was sleeping over Bonnie's, so that they would not worry about me. Why would they be calling me so persistently? Just as I was about to text the kid, a voice boomed over the space.

"It's done." Sheila said and my eyes momentarily looked up. She was okay, Bonnie too. They didn't look as tired as the last time, but I still saw that both women breathed hard. Then my eyes turned left and I saw the black whole that was the entrance of the tomb. Then I felt a hand encasing my right wrist. It was Damon but he wasn't looking at me, his eyes were on his brother, who stepped closer and took my other hand.

"Don't Damon. I will come with you, don't take her." Stefan said almost pleadingly but I still could hear the hardness in his voice. Damon glared at him.

"We had a deal, brother." He growled and I decided to stop this.

"Stefan, Damon is right."

"What is going on here?" Bonnie interrupted, looking from one brother to the other, searching for an answer.

"Do you really think I'm that stupid?" Damon asked, smirking viciously at the witches. "Adelle is coming with me."

"You do that and I will close the tomb." Threatened Sheila.

"You would do it if I went alone." Fired back the older brother.

"Don't you dare, Salvatore." Growled the witch while her granddaughter paled.

"Stop it! He needs a leverage, and I agreed. We are going in, just stop fighting." There was a silence after that. Sheila was now looking at me, and I knew that she was questioning my actions. We made a deal, she would not let them out for few days and now she was questioning why I was doing this.

Both witches stayed quiet, as Damon pulled me towards the entrance. I took a breath, feeling my body shaking a bit and just before we were about to pass the barrier, Stefan grabbed my other hand once more.

His brother was about to shout at him but Stefan stopped him.

"I am going in as well." Both stared at one another and I was in the middle of them, almost sensing the battle that they were fighting now.

"Do whatever you want, brother." Was the answer that Damon gave. He spared me a brief look then turned his back on me and pulled me in the darkness. I felt Stefan's hand squeezing mine in reassurance. He probably saw how nervous I was, so I smiled at him but it faltered just a bit when I saw him past the veil as well.

Now they were both locked in.


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer

I do not own Vampire Diaries. The O.C. is my only original character.

This story will follow the series to some extend, there will be a lot of changes and you will find a partial O.O.C. here.

It will be rated **[M]** for future chapters and yes it will be a **Menage love story/P** **olygamous relationship** , if you don't like please don't read.

I welcome constructive criticism and if you would like to help me with that, please write me a P.M.

Big thanks to my Beta - Kaderin ( _vkdrie . selene_ ) for correcting this chapter! ^w^

 **[!]** Comments. Follows. Any kind of support is highly appreciated. No kidding, it does give the motivation to update faster!

* * *

Chapter 5

I won't lie to you. The tomb was even spookier than what I saw on TV. Like, for real, imagine walking in a dark, damp place the end of which you could not see because you were in some kind of a tunnel. I had to be careful not to slip and fall because let's face it, the bodies laying around that looked more like mummies than anything else could make any sane person scream for their life.

Good thing I wasn't a sane person.

But even I admit that the bloody eyes following my every move, made me shudder.

"They can sense your blood." explained Stefan who had still to let go of my hand.

Duh..

I already knew that, thank you. But it still didn't lessen the creepy vibe felt all around me.

Damon had sprinted out in front of us, searching for Katherine, the moment we were all past the seal. Stefan, being the ripper angel he is, never left my side as we walked slowly deeper inside this scary hell hole. I could feel the Salvatore's gaze upon me but I still ignored the worried looks he was sending me.

"I will be fine, Stef, you're here, aren't you?" I smiled a little, looking up at him and he in return squeezed my hand in reassurance.

I was subtly searching for Pearl, Anna's mother, but I still hadn't found her. She would be of use while staying here. Before I could continue my train of thought, there was a growl in the distance. Then a splash like sound and it caught both of our attention. Stefan looked worried, so I pulled my hand away from his.

"Go see what's happening, I'm right behind you." But the vampire shook his head.

"I'm not leaving you, Adelle." he said but then he stopped dead in his tracks, like he was listening for something, but this time his green orbs were directed towards the entrance of the tomb. Did he hear something Sheila and Bonnie were talking about? Before he could react, there was another shout, this time no doubt coming from his older brother.

"Go!" I said with a rushed voice, concerned even if I knew what was going on.

And just like that after a second he was gone. I took a deep breath, willing myself to be brave and started to walk again, this time there was no Salvatore to hold me each time I would slip or protect me from my lack of coordination. So being the clumsy person I was, I fell down on my butt. Not even after ten steps on my own.

Just great.

Because I didn't have enhanced senses of sight and the ability to see things in the dark, I had to hold the wall to support myself.

The slippery wall.

God...

I was starting to freak out. Get a grip, Adelle! Don't be so whiny.

"AAHHHhh!" Before I could stop myself, the scream came barging out past my lips. While supporting myself, I had tripped once more but this time not because of my amazing absence of control over my limbs, but because of the vampire that was sitting there. And to add up to the freaking mortifying surprise this dude had to open his eyes in such a way that they almost bulged out of his sockets.

Fuck, it was scary alright!

"Adelle! Are you okay?" came the concerned voice of my witch friend. So maybe everyone had heard me. I was by now far from the entrance so I barely heard her but thankfully that made her or her grams light up the small torches placed on the two walls, illuminating the whole place.

Now I had a clear view of the grotesque place that served as a burial of 27 vampires that were starved to death.

I choked on my own saliva.

Okay...so maybe my plan of staying here for the next two or something days wasn't thoroughly considered.

I felt my skin prick. Goosebumps resurfacing. My breathing became ragged.

I was panicking.

Before everything could grow out of proportion and cause me to experience a panic attack that I haven't had for almost eleven years, strong hands engulfed me in an embrace. I clenched my arms around the familiar scent that I could now recognize anywhere. Stefan brought me closer, held me firmly, whispering soothing words- that I was safe, that I was okay. I had hid my head in his chest, taking deep breaths, willing my body to stop shaking and for my brain to start working again.

This was neither the time nor the place for such a display.

"You are okay, Addie." his warm voice said just above me and I nodded, finally believing it.

I pulled away and smiled a little, or at least tried, for the good of both of us. But it looks like I failed because the vampire's worried features told me he wasn't anywhere near buying my act.

"What happened?" I asked, glad to not let my voice betray how much I didn't like this place. But the moment I said those words, his body tensed and Stefan stepped away, making it possible for me to see what was behind him.

Oh, Damon…

Never had I thought that my heart could hurt so much for somebody as it did right then. The older brother, stood a few feet away from us and there was no sign of the cocky, overconfident vampire that I got to know these past months. In his place there was a man who had lost everything, that was crushed and confused… A man that was completely lost. His blue eyes were staring at the end of the tunnel that I had yet to still go and see. His body was almost lifeless, defeated. And the pain that was written so clearly over his beautiful face made my eyes moisten with unshed tears.

How could someone do something like that to him?

He didn't deserve to be played by Katherine, he didn't deserve to have waited for a century and a half for a woman that didn't care for him!

I took a step towards him and his head quickly snapped in my direction. For a moment there I thought he had lost it completely and didn't even know where he was anymore or who I was. But then it became clear and my breath was knocked out from my chest.

Because Damon Salvatore looked at me almost pleading, like the world had dumped all of this shit over him and it was getting to be too much, it was breaking him and I was the only one that could do something.

So I did.

Knowing full well that Stefan watched the display with his entire attention I almost ran towards the raven haired man and encircled my hands around his neck. I had to stand a little on my toes, but this didn't even registered in my mind, because just like moments ago when Stefan had been whispering soothing words to me, I was now doing the same thing, but for his brother.

"I'm sorry, Damon. I am so sorry." I repeated, fearing that any second now he would push me away, get angry, lash out. But instead of that, his own arms snaked themselves around my mid section and held me tightly, almost bruising. His head nestled itself in the crook of my neck and a ragged shaky breath came out of his lips. I felt it brushing my neck and ear, and the tears, I was holding, started to fall down my cheeks.

I don't know why I was so emotional, why I started to shake, why I was hurting so much for this man, but I was. And I couldn't stop even if I wanted. Because seeing Damon like that, so fragile, so broken, made my head spin.

No.

Damon Salvatore should be sarcastic, rude, inappropriate, full of sexual innuendos and all other shit like that. He should be brave, fearless, evilly smart and unpredictable.

But right now he was none of that, and if I couldn't count on Damon being Damon, then there was something extremely wrong with this world.

Maybe because I was quiet now, or maybe because my tears were soaking his expensive shirt, or just maybe he was done with the dramatics, but the blue eyed vampire pulled away slowly. His hands fell on either sides of his body and I ordered my own to do the same. I was surprised that Damon didn't put a mask back on and I could still see how hurt he was.

"Katherine isn't here." were the first words that came out of his mouth. His deep voice was now scratchy too, no doubt due to the inner battle he was fighting within himself over the new emotions he was but helpless to feel.

I nodded, confirming his statement.

"Why are you crying?" he chuckled then but it didn't hold any of the lightness that I was accustomed to. "You weren't the one that had been fooled to think that the woman he loved was locked in here." Damon shook his head, not believing that that was what was currently happening to him.

I still kept crying.

"There is no need to cry, Adelle." this time Damon whispered, eyes never leaving mine and I was rooted in place, paralyzed by how sad those gorgeous blue eyes were. Then he lifted his right hand and with two fingers, gently brushed away a tear that was falling down on my cheek.

"You don't deserve this. Damon...I..." but what could I say to him? I had no experience in these things. What could I do to make it better?

Nothing.

I was just a human, with no powers.

Absolutely, nothing.

…

A chuckle.

"Maybe I deserve it." but then Damon averted his eyes and I could not see him anymore. He was looking at Stefan. "Let's get out of here." he said and the younger brother nodded, stepping closer and offering a hand in my direction. I looked at it, then at his worried face that betrayed he was grieving for his brother too and then at Damon who spared me a last look before walking ahead of us, towards the entrance.

I took another deep breath, took Stefan's hand, squeezing it showing that I was alright, answering his unasked question.

We were silent for less than a minute, as it was interrupted by Damon when I saw him, being just few feet behind him, trying to pass the invisible barrier.

"What did you do?" he growled at the older witch that was seated patiently waiting for our return. Bonnie was near her on her feet, marching back and forth. She looked distressed. Worried. When she saw me, she ran towards us but stopped at the last second, remembering the seal.

"Adelle, I'm sorry! I didn't know!" she pleaded, looking pale as her eyes skimmed over my body, checking for injuries. Then her eyes turned to the brothers that were somehow on either side of me.

She was afraid they would hurt me.

"Be quiet, Bonnie." Sheila commanded.

Stefan let go of me and tried to push through the barrier, but he, just like his brother was unsuccessful.

"What is going on, Sheila? This was not part of our deal." he stated, sending a wary gaze at Damon who with each passing second looked more and more like a caged animal. He had experienced an emotional overload just moments ago, and now this anger wasn't helping anyone. I wanted to tell him to stop pushing the invisible seal, but I wasn't sure how he would react, so I stayed quiet as he kept on doing it.

It must be painful.

"I agreed to open the tomb, Stefan, but I never said I was going to lift the seal. I am not letting those creatures out." stated the older witch that was now on her feet, looking scary, even if the tiredness was showing. Bonnie was looking back and forth between her and me. Not knowing what to do or say, it was clear that they had been discussing this before we showed up.

"Don't play with me witch." spat out Damon, stopping Stefan from saying anything. "I am not in the mood, so help me God, I will kill all of you if you don't let us out!" I hadn't seen him so angry. I'm telling you, it was a sight to see.

"Adelle can get out whenever she wants, the spell was valid only for supernatural creatures."

Both Slavatore's heads snapped in my direction. Stefan then ran towards me, but Damon was faster.

Fuck.

In a heartbeat I was in his clutches, but this time his hands weren't comforting, they held me like he was ready to snap my neck.

"Damon! Let her go!" growled Stefan now in front of us. He was just like his brother angry, but for a different reason.

"No!" shouted Bonnie at the same time.

There was just too much happening in such a short span of time. Like for real, I was barely keeping up with all of the emotional changes.

"Play along, sweet Addie." whispered Damon in my ear and that made all of my struggling stop. Stefan froze up in place too.

The older brother made me step towards the seal, I was sure that he was glaring just as intensely as Bonnie and Sheila were glaring at him.

Great.

I was surrounded by angry people.

"Listen carefully Witch, you let us out, or you will have to think of a reason why the Gilbert's little sister was found dead with a snapped neck." the menace in his voice made me shake. It was clear as a day that the threat affected the witches.

"You kill her and you will rot there for eternity, Damon." fired back Sheila.

Hey, woman! We had a deal! Hello!?

Just give in already!

But I didn't see any resolve in her eyes, she didn't want to lift the spell. I would have panicked if it wasn't for Bonnie who did a full one eighty. Gone was the scared girl.

Hello, to the fierce Bennett witch!

Finally!

"We both know that you won't do it, Salvatore. Stefan stop him!" she shouted, but Damon tsked, almost mocking them. His hands around my mid section and neck tightened. I tensed.

"Dear brother can't do anything, his diet makes him weak, sorry to disappoint you, witch." he said sarcastically.

"Enough, Damon! Let her go!" shouted Stefan stepping closer but stopped dead in his tracks when the grip around my neck made me choke.

Fuck, Damon! I don't like you so much in this moment!

"Okay! Fine!" stepped in Sheila, looking worriedly at me. "Let her out and I will lift the spell." she proposed but the sarcastic laugh that came from Damon told her he wasn't buying her shit.

"Try again, Bennett." if looks could kill, the vampire would be ashes on the ground by how much she glared at him.

"We don't have enough energy to do that now, Salvatore." she gritted through her teeth. Man was she scary!

"Speak English, Sheila."

"We will need a day or two to gather our magic back, the spell is too strong and complex, not to forget old. We won't be able to lift it before that." Stefan sent me a look, like he was telling me to be prepared.

What was he thinking?

I got my answer.

Alright.

I got it. The next thing I know Damon is flying back, Stefan holding him from his shirt.

"Adelle, go!" he shouted! Damon growled and punched him, but the younger brother, held him back. My instincts took over and I was running before I knew it. Bonnie was waving frantically, screaming for me to hurry up. Two more steps and I would be out.

Then I stopped.

What was I doing? This was not part of the plan. No matter how shitty and scary this place was, even more with an unstable Damon in it, I was not a coward. No way was I running away.

No way!

"What are you doing Adelle?" shouted Bonnie, eyes going big, seeing me just a few feet away from her. I shook my head.

"Stop! All of you, STOP!" I screamed. My voiced traveling all down to the end of the tunnel, no doubt if anyone was outside the tomb they would hear me too.

And surprisingly the commotion died instantly. Sheila and Bonnie stood in front of me, faces painting their unasked questions. Damon and Stefan were behind me, holding each other but no longer fighting.

"Do you promise, to let them out, Sheila?" I asked the older witch.

"Yes, I do. In two days." she nodded.

"And I believe you, but Damon doesn't and he needs leverage, so I will stay here, till you two come and free them. I promise that by then all of the vampires are going to be dead, if you promise in return to not inform anyone from the council, Sheila. Please."

"No! I can't leave you here, Addie! Are you out of your mind?" Bonnie exclaimed shaking her head. She frantically looked from me to her grams, pleading with her to not agree. What she didn't know was that her grandma already had.

"Okay. We have a deal." said the witch, ignoring the protests of the teenager. "I hope you know what you are doing, Adelle." she told me and I gave her a curt nod.

But did I really?

"You do something to her, Salvatore, I will kill you myself." she then threatened the brothers that were now without my knowing next to me both staring at me like I had lost it. Thankfully no one said anything. Even Stefan, who looked as far from happy as possible. I just knew he would give me a piece of his mind at the first opportunity he got. But surprisingly he let me make my own decisions.

"And who said I agree to this?" asked Damon.

Maybe I spoke too soon.

Irritating little piece of…

"Take it or leave it, Salvatore." fired back Sheila. He narrowed his eyes, but then turned to me and maybe it was my pleading look, maybe it was still evident how shaken up I was from the hold he had me in a few minutes back, but none the less he took a deep breath and then nodded.

If I could get away with it, I would have danced a happy dance right this second!

Oh my God!

He actually agreed!

But now was not the time.

"Thank you Sheila." I turned my attention towards Bonnie, who was a second away from lashing out and getting me out of there on her own. "Bonnie..." she glared at me.

"You are insane!" she growled. I nodded. "So stupid!" again I nodded. "What are you thinking!?"

I shrugged.

What else could I tell her?

"Bonnie, I'm sorry, but please trust me that I am capable of making the right decision. I made a promise to them, I can't just leave like that." I tried to reassure her. The little witch still looked far from happy. "Bonnie...please..."

There was a brief pause, she looked away but in the end her shoulders sagged in defeat and she agreed.

"What do you want me to do?" she asked and I smiled a little.

This girl was awesome.

Seriously.

"Tell Jenna, Elena and Jeremy that I'm staying over the weekend. By Monday morning, I believe you will be able to lift the spell, right?" Sheila nodded in confirmation. "Then tell them that I will see them in school. Could you bring me some blankets, food and water? Maybe clothes too?" I asked nicely and Bonnie nodded immediately.

"If you're taking orders, I would like my bourbon please." smirked Damon, but I could feel it was a fake one. Because he was angry with the situation? Because of Katherine? Both?

Who knew?

The glare that Bonnie sent him, answered his question.

"I will come back as soon as possible." she reassured me. I smiled once more and soon after both Bennett's were gone.

We were left alone, well...Damon, Stefan and myself not counting the 27 mummified vampires, that is.

* * *

It had been twenty or so minutes from the moment when the witches left. I was expecting shouting, cursing, fighting but none happened. Strangely enough we all sat on the ground near the seal. Damon was here too, I was expecting him to fly to the farthest corner possible, but no. Both brothers, sat quiet, lost in their own thoughts. And while the older one was probably mulling over not finding the woman he loved, I had the sneaky feeling that Stefan wasn't talking because he was mad.

Mad at me.

Tche.

I had enough.

I stood up, succeeding in catching both their attention and starting to walk further down the tomb.

"What are you doing?" asked Stefan and when I turned around I almost collided with him. His eyes were hard, and just like I suspected he was not one bit happy for me to be here. I rolled my eyes at him then looked at Damon who watched us.

"Anna came in Mystic Falls to get her mother out, no? So she must be here and if I remember correctly, you told me that she was close to Katherine. If anyone knows what happened it will be her. So sorry if I don't intend to just sit here, trying to ignore the hungry eyes of a few mummies that would give everything to have a bite at my neck." I said and didn't miss how Damon's eyes became large in realization that I was right.

Stefan's did the same.

"I don't know what this woman looks like, but you two do, so if you don't have anything better to do, then chop chop!" I grinned cheekily and just before Stefan was about to give me a piece of his mind, Damon was next to us, dangling a blood bag.

So this time he hadn't had the opportunity to splash it on the wall?

Good.

"Damon..." Stefan started, but stopped because of the glare he got from his brother. I saw it, Stefan most definitely did too. There in the pits of the blue orbs of the vampire one could recognize desperation. He hid it well, but I didn't miss it. Damon wanted to know the truth.

Stefan sighed.

"If you find her first shout, I want to know the answers just as much, brother." A nod later they were both gone.

Ugh…

Hello?

Did they just leave me with a bunch of hungry psychos? But then again, they were slow, so if someone came at me I was only steps away from the seal and I could just get out.

I didn't get the chance to whine even a bit as Stefan reemerged from the corner, in his hand holding the gray body of the one and only Pearl-I-don't-know-the-rest-of-your-name. He looked at me for a second, eyes roaming over my body, like he was searching if I was okay, which in turn made me almost smile and then placed her unmoving body on the wall opposite of the one I was leaning on.

A second later, Damon was next to me.

His eyes were glued to the woman on the ground and his face was masked from any emotions. He spared Stefan a look and I became witness to the silent conversation they had just between each other, proving to me that the bond they had wasn't broken. The blond vampire then crouched down next to Pearl and held her shoulders in place, her eyes snapped open momentarily when Damon placed the open bag in front of her mouth.

I was sure that if Stefan wasn't restraining her she would have leaped at me the moment the bag was empty. But she didn't, though that didn't mean she didn't try.

So let's skip over that. When Damon finally could talk with her, evading any questions as to where Anna was, he made her spill the whole Katherine thing. In less than a few minutes his belief and fierce dedication burned down to ashes as he found out that Katherine was never in the tomb, that she fooled them all and made Damon look for her even though she didn't need him too. Pearl even told the brothers how Pierce was just playing them, that she never loved them but used them as a way of entertainment, passing the time while taking over the town.

"She didn't care for anyone, she fooled you both." were her last shaky from the blood starvation words, before Damon took her heart out and squashed it in his hand.

Silence took over.

I didn't dare to speak or move. I just watched as all the information was processed through the brother's brains. Damon looked at me just for a moment, a hard facade on his features and then he swooshed somewhere in the tunnel. Stefan on the other hand stepped away from the body and slid down the wall, eyes closed, head turned up to the sealing, a long sigh escaping his lips. His hand went through his messy light brown hair and I could see the conflict storming in his head.

Both needed time to process what they found out.

* * *

"Just say it, Stefan!" I groaned.

When Damon disappeared somewhere in the long tunnel, I sat down as far away from Pearl's body and Stefan too, as it was possible without nearing another mummified vampire. The said Salvatore had been once again silent and I was expecting for him to say something...anything, but the minutes went by and it started to get on my nerves.

What did he want from me?

I was there keeping my word, even if I would prefer to be anywhere else but in this damp, scary filled with thirsty blood suckers packed place. Let's not forget that Damon was less than stable and I had to keep ignoring the body in front of me which was lacking a heart and was disturbingly facing my direction.

I was not used to this stuff!

Okay?

And considering that Stefan was throwing a hissy fit, and the absence of blood that should be at least a little present in the hole that was gracing the dead body, I was doing quite alright. If I could say so myself.

But did anyone realized that? No. So the blond near me should just say what was eating him from the inside and was threatening to oppose any laws of eternity by developing wrinkles on his forehead. This is how much brooding was happening right now.

Thankfully Stefan had had enough too it seemed because he finally looked at me and I held back the eye-roll from the angry glare he threw at me.

Really, vampire? You are going to glare at me? Me?

I stayed quiet, giving him a chance, before I lash out too. Hey, I never said I was the patient type of girl either. I got angry fast sometimes too.

"You should not be here, Adelle." he finally said. I narrowed my eyes at him.

"Why, because I am a meek human girl that can't protect herself?" he shook his head. "Then what Stefan?" the vampire let out a long breath.

"What you did was stupid and dangerous." I laughed.

"Yeah? And what right do you have to tell me what I can and cannot do?" I fired back. This time it was his turn to narrow his green orbs at me.

A second later I was on my feet and he was caging me between the wall and his body, arms, blocking me where they were placed near my head.

"What right do I have? Hm? Is that what you're asking me?" he challenged and I had the feeling that this question was about more than the dominance he and his vampire had over the people around them. Let's be honest, in the TV show they loved to order around the powerless Elena, but I would never let that happen.

"You tell me Stefan, from the moment Sheila and Bonnie left you haven't said a word to me." I said, thinking it was better to not anger him too much when he was in such proximity to me. And truth be told, I hadn't actually seen him so annoyed and angry at me before, so I wasn't so sure of how I should act.

"Does it really not matter, at least a little bit to you, that I don't want to see you get hurt? Don't you care that I worry about you and your safety? You would do anything you want, no matter the consequences, just because you want to. To hell to anyone that cares about you and would be devastated if something happens to you!" his voice wasn't loud, but the more he talked, the deeper it became, so much that in the end he almost growled. His eye were hard, face near mine, he was challenging me to deny what he said.

I sighed.

Would he feel hurt, if something happens to me? Is that it?

The thought made me shiver a little, he cared that much about me? It was almost so surreal that I would have not believed it, but then I carefully looked at him and I just knew he was telling the truth.

The feels!

It was too much and me being the coward I was, pushed them away, concentrating on ignoring the pull I felt to get near him.

"I care about you Stefan." I said, looking him straight in the eyes, willing him to listen to me. "And because I do I want to make sure that you are okay, that you and Damon are okay. That's why I made this promise, that's why I want to make you both see that you don't need anyone else but each other to be happy. I promised myself, Stefan, to do whatever it takes to heal your relationship, that's why I stayed here. For you and Damon, knowing the risks, because just like you I want you to get out."

He was about to say something, but I shook my head. I wasn't finished.

"I know that you are not happy to see me here, but I need you to understand why I am doing this, Stefan. I need you to let me make my own decisions. This is why I was so persistent yesterday to jump from the rooо top. I wanted to show you both that I am serious, that I intend to do what I said I will. But if you don't trust my judgment, how can that happen, Stefan?"

"I do trust you, Addie." the vampire quickly said. "I just..."

"Don't believe I can do it?" I finished for him and the silence that came over us confirmed my words.

Oh, that hurts.

I looked away and heard him wince. A second later, his finger is under my chin and is turning me so I could once again look at him. His eyes are pleading.

"It's not that, Adelle. It's…" he was searching for words. I let him do it. "Whoever becomes close to me or Damon, always ends up..."

Dead.

"It's a risk that I am willing to take, Stefan. You told me about yourself, I know very well what either of you are capable of doing. And I have decided to take the risk, just like you decided to let me in. It's a two way street, I trust you. Do you trust me?"

Silence.

Then a slow nod.

His green eyes were piercing mine, the heat radiating from them told me how serious he was, that his answer was nothing but true.

"Yes." I smiled and my stomach fluttered.

"Okay." I took a deep breath, holding back a grin. This was so not the place, Adelle. "Good. So you should trust that I am capable of taking the right decisions, too. Please respect that, Stefan. I want to be here just as much as you want to, but I am not leaving you or Damon here. You don't deserve it." I stated, showing my full conviction in my actions for the past hour. Stefan observed me, eyes roaming over me, there was no more hardness, or anger. I saw amazement, just a little bit of a shock and most of all acceptance.

"Okay." he nodded. "But you should understand too, Adelle. I don't want you to get hurt because of me or Damon, so if I have to, if it comes to it, I will even force you to get out of here." I was about to say something be he didn't let me. "You should respect my decisions too."

Touche! Salvatore. Touche.

"Fine." I rolled my eyes and grinned a little. This man was just as stubborn as I was. "Now that we've cleared that up, will you stop ignoring me?" I asked nicely and he let out a low chuckle, shaking his head.

"I wasn't..."

But I threw hims a look of 'who are you bullshitting?' and he didn't continue.

"Sorry about that." good save, Salvatore!

I waved my hand in dismissal, showing him not to be worried about it.

"How are you feeling?" I choose to change the topic and turn it towards what we found here in the tomb...or the lack of it.

The younger brother let out a long breath, stepped away and soon we were sitting on the ground next to each other, shoulders touching. It wasn't cold per se, I had a few layers of clothes on, knowing that I would be sleeping here and not wanting to catch a cold, but his presence next to me was in itself even more soothing.

"For the past century and a half I thought that Katherine was dead." he started, eyes staring at the wall opposite of us. Pearl's body forgotten for the moment. "When I turned I remembered everything that she made me forget. I found out that I never loved her and was manipulated by her to think that way. But it still hurt,on one hand I felt betrayed and used, but on the other hand I felt for her, I had betrayed my brother for her, and adding the heightened emotions...it was just too much." I looked at him, the man was deep in his memories.

"You both lost her then." I said, not knowing if it was to stir him back to the reality or just to show him that I understood, better than he knew.

"I know, but Damon did love her and now being here shows me just how much he did." Stefan continued. "When he said that she was here, I felt nothing but shock. Long ago I had forgotten the anger I felt for her. So when Pearl said that she manipulated us all, I already knew that to some extent. And her being free, roaming the world, knowing very well that Damon looked for a way to presumably free her from here, makes me so angry, Adelle. Because if it was compulsion for me, for him it was all real." I nodded. I was angry too.

"But what could I do?" he then whispered.

I was at a loss for words. Then something caught my attention, Damon stood silently at the end of the tunnel, where it turned left, he wasn't exactly hiding, but the shadows that the fire on the torches made, shaded over his body, engulfing him in the dark. His hands were folded in front of his chest, his head was inclined a little on one side as his blue orbs bore through Stefan, who noticed him too.

There was a silence. Both brothers stared at one another. Damon's face was a mask, a blank mask and I could not see what he was feeling. Stefan on the other hand was stiff almost afraid that his brother would lash out at him. We both knew that the older Salvatore wasn't fond of talking about his feelings.

But then again, he didn't say anything sarcastic or hurtful.

It was a step in the right direction.

When he finally spoke, his voice was steady, he spared us one last look before he slowly walked towards the nearest mummified vampire.

"They are starting to sense Adelle even more, it's time to get rid of them." he then crouched down and without even batting an eyelash took the heart out. Stefan nodded. Probably glad that at least there was no fighting between them.

For the moment, at least.

Both got to work and I didn't want to just sit there doing nothing. I stood up, took out a torch that was closest to me and broke it in half. It was made out of wood and I succeeded in making at least one end sharp enough to pierce a heart.

I think.

Okay...who was I kidding, the piece looked almost like a stake now, but I had less than zero experience with killing vampires. So when I found one, that was still unkilled by either brother I took a deep breath. It's not that hard, right?

I mean, I had a sharp weapon, how much force would one need to push it through the chest, break the skin and…?

I shuddered. Wow...okay. It looked so much easier on TV and for God's sake! The guy couldn't move, there would be no struggling. Why was my heart beating so fast?

I squared my shoulders, willed my hand not to shake, chanted in my head that the faster I did it the sooner it would be done. The body was laying on the ground, it was the easiest position for someone to kill him permanently.

Focus, Adelle!

I leaned down. Oh God, oh God! I was about to kill somebody! Placing the pointy part of the stake at the place where the heart was beneath the skin, I closed my eyes and pushed…But then a gentle hand placed itself on mine and stopped me. I opened my eyes immediately, Damon was standing next to me, his eyes were unreadable but he was still gentle when he pulled the stake out of my grasp.

He shook his head.

"You don't have to do this." before I could protest, he plunged the wood and with a final gasp the vampire died.

I would have never admitted it, but the moment he stopped me I felt relieved, like a weight was lifted of my shoulders.

"This is the last one." Damon said and looked behind me, where when I turned I realized that Stefan was standing. He nodded.

"So..ah… were we just going to leave the bodies all over the tunnel...I mean.." so maybe the possibility of becoming a killer made my brain melt and stop functioning. The older brother lifted the body and then disappeared.

"We placed them all in the very back of the tomb." explained Stefan and I let out a sigh. Good. I was so not going to like spending the next two days here, surrounded by dead vampires.

My tolerance for crazy was high. But not that high.

No thank you, sir!

No more hungry eyes watching my every move, too.

I nodded letting out a sigh and my brain was able to work more easily without the threat of some ancient vampire leaping at me at any given time. I knew that by killing those people it would inevitably change numerous things. Yes, I was aware that a lot of problems would be avoided too. Like Stefan and his blood problem, them attacking anyone, Katherine from knowing that the tomb was open and her cover up is blown. But then what about Isobel? How will Elena find out her true origin, her father too?

Ugh..

Shaking my head, I finally realized that Damon had returned and surprisingly stayed near Stefan and I. The brothers were silent and I had no idea what I should say so I decided that the best course of action was to let them think over it all. For all I knew those two needed to sort out everything first before I opened my mouth, and let's be real, the more I pushed Damon the more he would push back. Sighing I passed them and let my body sag near the entrance of the tomb. Leaning on the wall I let my eyes close for a moment or two, finally finding out how tired I was.

That was before my phone rang.

I jumped in surprise by the shrill sound of the melody that resonated through the tunnel. Not wanting to look at any Salvatore, I picked the device and saw it was Bonnie.

"Hey Bonnie, what is..." but I had no chance of finishing my sentence.

 _"Elena is missing, Adelle!"_ my eyes bulged out and I easily caught a shifting, Stefan and Damon who were now standing in front of me. One suspicious. The other surprised. _"I went to pick some of you clothes and Jeremy told me he couldn't get a hold of you and that he hasn't seen Elena all day, too. I lied and said she was staying with me as well, but when I searched for her, no one knew where she was, Addie!"_

"Calm down, Bonnie. Did you go to the graveyard?" I asked, raking my brain for idea of where she could have gone.

 _"Yes! She wasn't there!"_ my friend sounded scared and I couldn't blame her. What was I missing.

Then I remembered.

"Oh my God!" putting the phone off speaker as I looked at the brothers. "What if Anna wasn't here alone?" I asked. Bonnie took a sharp breath in.

"She never said anything about it." Stefan said. I looked at Damon but he looked disinterested.

 _"Adelle, you don't mean that she might be..."_ came the shaky voice of the witch.

"I...I don't know." and I really didn't. Ben, the bartender. I had completely forgotten about him, I hadn't been at the Grill in some time, but that was not an excuse! How could I be so stupid? He was a new vampire, he couldn't control himself! For all I knew Elena could be dead.

"Damon, did Anna tell you something?" asked Stefan turning towards his brother. But the vampire didn't spare him a look, no, he was staring at me and his expression made my blood freeze.

He didn't care.

"Can't help you." was all he said and turned to leave, but Stefan was on him before he could take a second step.

They started to pin each other, to shout and threaten and the more I saw them the more I understood that it wasn't because of Elena, no, they were letting it out on each other after the revelation of the truth.

" _Adelle, what is going on?_ " asked confused Bonnie, that probably heard the fight going on near me.

No time for this!

"Listen Bonnie, go to your Grams, tell her what is going on and bring something that is Elena's. I think you can locate her." I almost ordered and didn't care that she would have questions about from where I knew about that kind of spell.

 _"I..Addie..."_

"Bonnie Bennett, you are the most amazing bad ass girl I know. I am sure that you will be able to find her and when you do go and tell Alaric." I said, ignoring the pause that came the second I said this name. The vampires now panting, had stopped fighting, all of their attention on me.

 _"Wait, what?_ " asked outraged Bonnie. " _I can't tell our history teacher anything, Adelle!_ "

"You can and you will, Bon." she was about the protest some more. "He is a vampire hunter. Tell him that you saw Elena being kidnapped by a vampire, tell him you are a witch Bonnie, he will help you." I told her.

Yes, it was a wild horse, a risky idea to reveal my knowledge about Ric, I had to think of a way to get out of it, but Elena was more important right now and Bonnie couldn't go alone to save her, not when her Grams could over extend her powers and she herself going against a vampire for the first time. She did need help.

" _Adelle, how do you...how can I trust him with that_." she asked me. And I knew she had a lot of questions, but was too scared for her best friend to ask them now.

"You trust me right?" I fired back almost immediately.

" _Ofcourse_."

"Tell him that it was I who found out, tell him, that if he wants to know more he will from me, just like you, Bonnie. I know he will do the right thing. But please hurry up, we can't waste time." I urged her.

" _I will call as soon as possible. Hold up, Adelle_." she answered and I smiled a little, ending the call.

Letting out a long breath, I closed my eyes and chided myself for blowing my cover to such an extent in front of the two most curious, invasive and controlling vampires I was locked in with.

Opening my blue orbs I saw them both, clothes and hair all over the place, eyes watching me with so many emotions, most prominent being shock, anger, surprise and suspicious.

Great.

"Talk." ordered the raven haired one and I glared at him, biting my tongue from telling him to go to hell for trying to order me around once again. But now was not the time. I spared a look at the other brother and no surprise there he had a hard look on his face too.

These men were more alike than they would ever know.

"What does it matter, Damon? You were leaving, for all I know you still are leaving when you get out of here. You said it yourself, this is not your problem." I stared right at him, not willing to back down.

"Then what about me? Why didn't you say anything to me, Adelle?" asked Stefan and my eyes snapped in his direction. He had a reason, but then I wasn't counting on either of them to find out that way.

"I was going to tell you but a lot of things were happening lately." was my excuse and to some extent it was the true.

Both didn't believe me.

"Look, one day after class, I talked with Alaric, he being the cool history teacher that he is, was helping Jeremy catch up with school, so I wanted to thank him." I started to explain. Might as well tell them...most of it, that is. "Then I saw his ring. I had seen it before, it was the one my….father had." saying Grayson was my father, felt so wrong, that I pushed the words out of my mouth. "My uncle had the same too. It was a family thing given to the next generations. So I was surprised that he had one himself. When I searched for the one my father wore, I didn't find it anywhere and I became suspicious. I payed more attention to my teacher and then I caught him one day after class opening his trunk where he had a stash of wooden stakes. One thing led to another and I found out he was a vampire hunter."

"Why is he here?" asked Stefan, absorbing the information better than his brother that was more angry before I started.

"I don't know, he isn't aware that I know about him either."

"Then how the hell can you trust him?" Damon gritted through his teeth.

"Because he likes Elena, because I can read people and I know he isn't bad, that he would help, Bonnie." I stated, starting to getting angry myself, but I had to remember that those two had a reason to be suspicious, for all they knew he could be their worst nightmare.

"In other words you just felt like it." stated Damon and I almost saw red.

Was he letting it out on me?

"I don't care what you think Damon, while you were both fighting I had to do something and Bonnie and Sheila being weakened by the spell, they couldn't go against a vampire or more who could be older then you two. So who else other than him?" I fired back, daring him to say something, and because this man could not help it he was about to, but when Stefan stepped in.

"What you did was risky, Adelle, and not telling anyone wasn't a good idea." he said and we both ignored the snort that came from the raven haired man next to him.

Tch.

In times like this I wished to be more than human so I could beat his ass.

Ass.

"He must be here for a reason." continued the vampire as I stayed silent showing that I was not willing to apologize for something that I did not consider a mistake.

"Yeah, or he might be thrilled to be a boring history teacher in a small forgotten town in nowhere." quipped Damon and I felt my blood boil in annoyance.

Just for that I would let him deal with Ric on his own.

Idiot. Sarcastic idiot!

"It's done, when we get out, I will talk with him." Stefan said not minding his brother I nodded silently thanking him.

"Yeah, not. He is dead the moment I step out of here." stated the other Salvatore like it was nothing. Mine and Stefan's head snapped in his direction.

My patience wore off.

"What the hell is your problem?!" I shouted, anger bubbling beneath my skin. In a moment he was in front of me. Eyes dark, betraying his own rage.

"What is my problem you ask?" he chuckled but it wasn't the care free one I was used to, no, it was the dark pissed off one that no one wanted to be on the receiving end of. I didn't back down, though. "My fucking problem is you, Adelle." he almost growled and yep...ouch, that hurt.

I didn't let it show.

"Damon..." warned Stefan, but was ignored by his brother that stepped even closer caging me between the wall and him.

"It's you and your secrets, it pisses me off that you kept something like that. It makes my blood boil that you put yourself in danger and don't listen to anyone. You make me want to snap and kill every time you decide not to do as I say, when you make me consider..." but before he could finish the vampire stopped abruptly, maybe realizing his words.

His almost black eyes snapped shut and he took a deep breath, calming down before letting Stefan pull him away from me. They stared at one another. And while the younger one looked like he saw something unbelievable in Damon, the older brother seemed to come to some kind of revelation of his own.

Good thing I couldn't read minds.

* * *

An hour passed, it was two in the morning and I would be dead asleep on the ground, not minding the cold if Bonnie had called. But my phone was silent and we still had no idea of what was going on.

So the stress kept me awake.

My head hurt, even with my warm clothes my body was stiff and I had no idea how was I going to keep it up another day here. Not to forget that the silence was killing me. Damon was in his own world and even if he wasn't talking, a million things were going through his mind. Stefan had this worried face on and from time to time would look at me like he wanted to talk but for unexplainable reasons he stayed put and sat opposite of me.

And who was I kidding? No one could have privacy here, not when you were locked up with two vampires and one human who knew everything.

So I had to deal with it.

Till those two didn't get the itch for blood or something. For all I knew they could have fed two days ago and now could be fantasizing about me on a platter.

Or… whatever.

"There is someone coming." announced Stefan and I saw how both stood up ready for a fight.

Okay wait a second what was this kind of reaction?

Before I could ask, walking down the stairs showed up Bonnie and a very confused Elena.

Shit.

At least she was alive.

When the doppelganger saw me she ran towards me but the witch grabbed her hand just before she could cross the seal. Elena looked outraged and I could see how she observed or tried to find the invisible wall for supernaturals. Oh...that meant she was probably by now up to date with what was happening. The confusion was soon replaced by anger that was directed towards me and BAM I knew I was right.

"So the witch finally fessed up, I see." Damon stole my words and now looked as nonchalant as ever. Elena glared at him then at Stefan who stayed quiet.

"When were you going to tell me, Adelle?" she then turned to me. I held back an eye roll but chided myself because if I was in her place I would be mad as well. "Or you weren't ever going to, but because some...some monster kidnapped me you have no other choice but to." I looked at Bonnie silently asking her what happened.

"We found her in a motel, it was Ben from the Grill, Anna had turned him and when she didn't come back he went crazy, later he took Elena." she spared a look at her other friend that was pissed for being ignored. "I went to Alaric, he was surprised but when I told him that I needed help he came. He was able to stake Ben and we got Elena to safety, but he wants answers Addie and I told him that on Monday at school we would talk with him." the witch explained and I nodded smiling a little.

At least I was right and Alaric being a cool guy agreed to wait till I had a chance to talk with him personally and thankfully avoided having him come here.

That would've been a disaster.

"What the hell is going on here?" screamed Elena probably way over with the ignoring thing. I heard Damon snort somewhere in the back and I just knew if he opened his mouth things would only get worse. Good thing Stefan saw it coming too because he spoke.

"Damon and I are vampires, Elena. I know it must be hard to understand but it's complicated..." she waved him off coldly, her attention sorely on me.

"Bonnie told me what this whole thing was about. She said she was a witch and that you knew about it for a long time now." here it comes. "My question is why didn't you tell me anything? I am you sister for God sake! How can you keep this away from me!"

No you are not. My sister isn't here, Elena.

I bit my tongue to stay quiet.

"You can't put all the blame on her, Elena. It wasn't her secret to tell." Stefan spoke up defending me.

"Stefan is right, I was going to tell you about my powers soon, and Adelle knew that. She was a good friend and she was keeping it secret till I was ready." added Bonnie.

Elena wasn't happy with it, though.

"So you left my little sister in danger, you knew with what we were surrounding ourselves, but you still left her locked in there, you still let her be there...with ...with those monsters!?" she shouted at the witch and the smaller girl winced at the harsh words the Gilbert was firing at her.

I tried to stay calm.

"Elena stop." I finally spoke and it was like a slap, because the tomb became quiet. All attention back on me and I could just feel Damon's gaze that had not left my being from the moment Elena came down. "I didn't tell you anything because I didn't want you to get involved. I wanted to protect you for as long as possible. And what Stefan said was true, it was never my secret to give away. I promised to help him and Damon, that's why I am here. Bonnie was nothing but a good friend that looked after me, so you have no right to blame it all on her." I stated and saw how her face transformed from one expression to another, listening to what I wanted to say. "I found out from the Gilbert's journals. When you go back to the house, they are in my room, in the closet, read them, there you can find a lot and I know that Bonnie will add to the information too." She glared at the end.

"So that's it? You are staying here...with them? Till Monday?" the girl was outraged. "Are you insane? What about Jeremy? Jenna? What if...if they hurt you?"

"You are giving me a headache." Damon stepped in. I froze. He didn't look happy, like what Elena said irritated him, greatly. "So be a good girl and get out, you can speak with your precious sister when your witchy friend gets us out of here." the glare she sent him was almost comical and the disinterested look he send her back was something no one saw in the series.

Thankfully, Stefan, decided to butt in once more. But Elena glared at him too.

"And you? I thought we were friends, but all this time you lied to me!" she accused. God, I was tired, couldn't this happen when it was actually bright outside?

"I know I betrayed your trust, Elena, but if there is one thing you can believe about me is that I would never hurt Adelle." he fired back almost immediately and chills went down my body from how serious and sincere he was. Elena paused after that, probably seeing the same thing I did.

"Bonnie told me the same thing, but how could I let her stay here, when I saw what your … kind was able to do?" she shuddered and I wondered what went down in that motel.

"Elena, please, let's talk about this tomorrow." I pleaded, feeling so tired. Bonnie nodded.

"I will tell you everything on our way back." she tried to help me, but the doppelganger wasn't having it.

I let out a sigh and took my place near the seal, both Salvatores were near each other, opposite of me, but neither made a move to sit down, nor did Bonnie or Elena.

"What do you want to know?" I asked in defeat, ignoring the worried looks that Stefan and Bonnie send me.

"Everything." Elena said.

So I did. I told her how I found out, then Bonnie explained about herself, Stefan then took over and told her about what vampires were and shared a brief short version of the problem with Katherine and how we ended up here. Damon stayed uncharacteristically silent, only putting on a smirk here or there, when his younger brother tried to reassure Elena that they would not hurt her.

"But why mess with my little sister? Why put her in the middle of it?" Elena asked and she was a little calmer but anyone here could see that all the information that she took in was overwhelming her.

"Because I trust her." answered this time Damon and his words shook me to the core.

Did he...did he really mean that? I almost choked on my own saliva and when I looked at him he was already staring at me, eyes dark, hard but still letting me see that he meant it.

"And I trust her as well." Stefan spoke and I looked at him next. Oh my, they were serious. They did trust me!

I couldn't hold back a grin.

So I grinned.

And clapped my hands in excitement. Like seriously. I did. And it was maybe because of my absurd giddiness that Stefan chuckled in amusement, while Damon rolled his eyes almost like he was laughing from the inside.

Just like before we went down the tomb.

I almost missed the suspicious look that Elena sent both of them and how she looked from one brother to the other then at me.

"I...I...just, it's too much. This, Katherine, you said she looks like me?" the doppelganger then asked and it effectively ruined any good mood that took over even just for a moment. Damon's body momentarily tensed up at the mention of the woman he did everything for but in return got only betrayal.

"She is your carbon copy." explained Bonnie.

"But how is this possible? We are not related and from what you told me, vampires can't procreate." Elena looked so confused.

I looked at Stefan who had a thoughtful look on his face and I knew he was considering telling her the truth of his suspicions.

"What do you think, Stefan?" I pushed him.

"I asked myself the same thing, so I checked. Your birth certificate was forged." Bonnie and Elena gasped at his words and the vampire quickly sent me a worried look, like he was most afraid of how would I react to finding out my sister wasn't my blood sister.

If I didn't know already. Which I did, but I still tried to pretend.

"You...you mean I was adopted?" choked Elena at her own words and Stefan nodded. Face betraying how bad he felt for the girl to find about it like that.

Elena then looked at me and she was so scared that I willed myself to stop with the bitchiness and try be the sister she needed reassurance from. So I stood up and walked towards the barrier, now standing just before it and looked at the Gilbert girl right in the eyes.

"There must be a reason no one told us about it, Lena. Go speak with Jenna, she must know something." she nodded, finally listening to me. "But, Elena, no matter what you find, no matter what the truth is...you will be always Jeremy's sister..." I took a deep breath, pushing the guilt and the pain of betraying my own real family from saying the words that came out of my lips. "You will always be my big sister." she was crying now and without saying anything came to me and hugged me, I tensed immediately, expecting Damon to pull her in as well, to have another piece of leverage, or for Bonnie to pull us both out, but neither did anything.

So I hugged her back and let her cry on my shoulder, today must have been one hell of a day for her, being kidnapped, finding out about vampires and witches and then to top it all of that she was adopted…

Any normal person would break down too.

"Now go, it's getting late." I told her, pulling her away. She nodded mutely and stepped back, crossing the seal as well.

"I will come back tomorrow." she promised, then looked briefly at the Salvatores.

"Here are some things for the night." Bonnie stepped up, giving me a bag and I smiled gratefully at her.

"Thank you Bonnie."

"See you tomorrow." she nodded and then they were both out.

When we were once again only the three of us, I turned around and looked at the brothers. Stefan smiled at me almost like in reassurance and I returned the gesture. For the past two months we had became so close that we were able to communicate without even saying anything. We understood one another that well. And it made my insides warm from how happy that thought made me.

Then I looked at Damon and decided to thank him.

"Thank you for not pulling her in here as well, Damon." I told him and wasn't surprised to see that he played it of like it was nothing.

"One Gilbert is enough, and she was too noisy and emotional, so.." the vampire shrugged and I laughed at how he acted uninterested. But I didn't push it.

"None the less, thank you." the older brother then looked at me and I stopped moving, feeling like he was about to say something important.

"I meant it, Adelle, I mean what I said, I had no real reason to pull Elena here." he stated and I nodded dumbly, not knowing how to answer, he was that intense. And I was not gonna lie, but him and Stefan declaring their trust in me made me feel incredible, accomplished, powerful.

Glad.

Because just like them, I trusted them too.

I opened the bag Bonnie gave me and took out a blanket. She had given me water and some snacks too. There was a note to hold on too, but I didn't pull it out. Apart from that, nothing else.

I was expecting a stake or something, but maybe the witch was too worried for Elena to add that or she trusted Stefan to keep me safe. I sat on the ground, put on the blanket, wrapping myself in it and looked at the brothers.

"There was no bourbon in that bag she gave you?" asked Damon sarcastically and I rolled my eyes, deciding not to answer him.

"Now that I know Elena is okay, I can go to sleep, wake me if anything comes up." I smiled at them a little, feeling to tired to be embarrassed.

Because seriously, if I wasn't so beaten up, I would feel self conscious about falling asleep in front of the two most sexy men I have met. I prayed there would be no drool when I woke up, or I would not live it down from Damon.

Or snoring.

Did I snore? Or worse did I talk in my sleep?

Shit…

And while I was having those thoughts in my head, I fell asleep.

* * *

When her heart slowed down and her breathing became shallow I knew Adelle was sleeping. Sitting across from her I could see how, even in the middle of the tomb, where not long ago she witnessed the killing of more than twenty vampires, the human girl was able to be the strong person I got to admire for the past few months. She was wrapped around the blanket Bonnie gave her and in that moment Adelle looked so fragile that I had to hold back my whole being from going to her and enveloping her in my arms.

The more I felt for her, the more I wanted to protect her, but of course she was so strong headed that she thought she didn't need any of that. I could see it clearly every time when things got bad, she was fighting for control, to stay strong and protect the ones she loved. But what she couldn't understand was that there were people that wanted to protect her in return too.

When Damon made me put her in the position she was now in, all I wanted was to snap and get her as far away from him as possible. I wanted for the longest time to tell her the truth, about me and my brother and when that happened I wanted for it to be me who did it. That didn't happen, what else didn't go as planned was that she already knew about us being vampires. When she confessed, I was left speechless, for numerous reasons but the most prominent one being that she chose to be around me, us, even after she knew what we were capable of. That's why I had to tell her all the bad things I had done, the ripper side of me too, I wanted to make sure that she understood what she was getting herself into. Damon surprisingly had the same idea that night as he wasn't skipping anything.

Alas, that didn't deter her either.

Going to her house that evening I was sure she would want nothing to do with us, she would be scared, disgusted just like Elena tonight. But no, she was accepting, listening to everything we told her and the more I talked the more I wanted to share with her, because not even for a second did I see judgment in her eyes.

It was that same night that I knew I had fallen in love with Adelle Gilbert.

And it was that same night I knew I didn't deserve her.

I had decided that after helping Damon get in the tomb, I would leave Mystic Falls, I would leave her. Because I knew that such a pure creature could not stay close to me before it was destroyed, broken, before I let her down. No matter how much her acceptance of me and my dark side meant to me, no matter how breathless I felt each time she was near me and no matter how she never once wanted from me to change, I could not let anything bad happen to her. And for me to achieve that was to go away.

That was the plan, get in the tomb, help Damon, make sure no vampire get's out, get even with my brother and then disappear.

But as always Adelle had a way to barge in and like an earthquake destroy anything I had thought of impossible. Maybe it was better to say that she didn't exactly barge in, she waited stubbornly at the front door of the boarding house.

Because why not? This was Adelle Gilbert and she did whatever she wanted.

Damon had been on edge the entire day, I myself was no better as we both could not find her anywhere. Of course when my brother decided that it was a good idea to annoy her on the phone she got him back and even if I wasn't happy that she was so set on keeping so many things from us, I couldn't hold back the chuckle when she hung up on him.

She once again showed us how independent she was that night, she refused to be ordered around and for the first time in so much time I felt proud, proud of her, like she was mine and she proved that she was not weak, that she was the reign of her own life. But that feeling was burned down the next moment when I remembered that she wasn't mine, she wasn't aware of what I felt for her and that the one she was going against was no other then my brother.

I have seen many doing the same thing and none lived to tell what happened, but this time it was different, instead of anger and the urge to kill, Damon was actually impressed. But as usual things didn't go as they were supposed to. He never backed down and the next moments were one of the worst in my entire existence. Watching Damon threaten her life like that and Adelle in return fighting back made me at the same time scared and angry. I had not felt this kind of rage in a while and all because of her, because she was ready to jump to make a point. I was fighting with the ripper inside of me and strangely it wasn't because of a blood lust, no, because in that moment all I wanted was to get her away from the edge, cradle her in my hands and lock her away so nothing bad could ever happen to her, so no one else could see her the way I did.

Even if that meant going through Damon and her to do it.

When she did jump, I felt like the ground beneath me was no more, that the world had stopped spinning around and that if I didn't go after her everything that made me me and pushed me to keep existing would be lost for ever.

It was that night that I realized how foolish I was.

It was that night I knew it was too late and no matter what I did I could never free myself from her, free her from me.

Because I knew she already held me in the palms of her hands, because I could not live without knowing she was okay, that she was happy and safe, without me.

That night I felt selfish and I wasn't sorry about it, because even knowing the danger I put her in while being around her, I could not let myself lose her.

Lose Adelle.

This decision proved itself to be a hard one. As of tonight Adelle showed me once more that she listened to no one if she thought that what she was doing was the right thing. But why was I surprised? She did promise to be a mediator between me and Damon, she did promise to help with the tomb even if that meant staying locked with us till Sheila let us out. And she proved it. Adelle Gilbert kept her word and that same thought made me feel hopeful that she might be able to restore my brother's and my relationship. Even if just a little.

But then I remembered her keeping Alaric's identity secret. If she did that, what else wasn't she telling any of us and why was she so set on not saying anything? The look of horror on her face when we found out Elena was missing made me see red. Somehow the mere thought of anything bad happening to her, of anything making her suffer or worry, made my whole world turn upside down. And without realizing it her every worry became mine, her every happy moment made me happy too.

But that was what it is to love somebody, right?

Because if so, I have deluded myself for over a century and half of what love meant. The more I was around her, the more I let her have power over me, the more I realized that I was loosing control and if before that thought made me scared of giving in to the ripper side, now it almost made me whole. I was ready to give it all up, if she was the one to hold it, to hold me.

All of this … and she had no idea about it.

Letting out a sigh, I willed myself to tear my eyes away from the sleeping girl with the extraordinary hair color. To my surprise Damon was not far away, and maybe I was too preoccupied within my own mind, but I had missed him coming back from the deeper parts of the tunnel. He, just as I was, was staring at Adelle and once again this feeling of coldness shook my body.

Because Damon was looking at the girl that I had fallen in love with, like she was something unique, like he couldn't believe that she was actually real.

This tenderness and awe had to go away. Because I couldn't let him...can't allow it to…

But could I blame him?

Could I blame Damon for seeing the same things I saw in her that made my knees weak and heart beat faster?

Could I blame him for finally feeling and all because of her?

For a long time all I wanted was to get my brother back, for him to forgive me, to restore what we once shared. The bond. The trust. But was I able to give … her away in order to get that?

"If you stare any more harder, brother, I am afraid you will bore a hole through my head." Damon spoke now he was closer, hands in his pockets, giving nothing away.

"We need to talk." I said, remembering Adelle's words. Without saying anything more I stood up and walked further down the tunnel, hoping that he would stop pretending to be an ass for one minute and follow me.

"Yeah, yeah, Stefan, I keep my word. You helped me get in here, didn't stab me in the back while doing so- we are even." those words made me stop. We are far away, so even if Adelle woke up she would not be able to hear us. When I turned he was leaning on the wall, hiding behind the indifferent mask I once thought was actually real.

But not anymore. Damon was feeling. No matter what he told me or himself, he could not deny it, could not hide it. Not after how he reacted when we found out Katherine was never here.

"That's not what I want to talk about..."

"Is it really? Or maybe it's that you want me gone?" Damon questioned, interrupting me and I fought back a retort, knowing that he was only trying to provoke me to deter the real reason we are having this conversation.

"No, and you know it, Damon." I looked at him, determined not to listen to anything he would say. Not before he heard me out.

"Okay, so go on, Stefan, enlighten me!" he waved his hands around sarcastically but I paid him no mind.

Taking a deep breath, I started.

"You may not believe me, but...I am sorry. You might not need to hear it from me, but I am, Damon. I am sorry for what I have done, I am sorry for betraying your trust, for selfishly going after the woman you wanted, for lying, for neglecting our brotherhood. I am, most of all sorry for making you turn without you wanting it." I let out a low shudder. God I had been wanting to say those words for the longest time. Damon was staring at me, emotions swirling in his eyes, I knew that even if he hid it well, he actually heard me. He listened.

The words that Adelle uttered back at the Lockwood lake come to my mind. That night she pushed me to fight harder, to fight with everything I had for the brother that no matter what he did to me, I would alway love and die for. So I let my pride go, I opened myself, ready to be burned and once again be hurt.

"Well, I'm not sorry, Stefan, being an eternal stud has it's perks!" was the sarcastic answer I got and I knew this was the way Damon tried to deflect the attention away from himself. Too bad I wasn't finished.

"None the less, I had no right doing that, and I know that you may never forgive me for it, Damon, but I want you to know why I did it." it was now or never. Clenching my hands hard I willed myself to tell the words I had been holding back for almost two hundred years. It was time to tell the truth even if opening myself up to him like that had proven itself to be disastrous in the past. Somehow I knew that this time it would be different. I hoped it would be. "When father shot us, the last thing I thought was that at least in death I would have my brother with me, but when I woke up in transition and this burning hunger took over all of my senses I felt lost, confused and scared. I turned, Damon and after realizing what I have done, I knew that there was no going back. So when you refused to transition I felt alone and terrified and knew that I would be forced to live forever without you. So I acted selfishly, I forced you to feed, I forced this curse upon you because I could not live without my big brother." My words were getting to him, I don't know to what extent, but he did let the walls down and I could see he was hearing me.. "Every death since then, everyone that you killed was all because of me. So I took your promise with open arms, because I knew that whatever misery you had decided for me, I deserved it, brother, I deserved it, because I betrayed you and broke us apart."

I let out a long breath, feeling lighter for being able to say what was heavily sitting in my heart. In my consciousness. Whatever Damon decided to do from now on, I had said what I wanted to. If he wanted to kill me, forget me, hate me, I would accept it. Whatever punishment he had for me I would take it.

He silently stepped closer. I was rooted in my place, ready for whatever my big brother was willing to give me. Two steps away from me, he stopped.

"Whoever I killed, Stefan, lays on my conscience. You are not responsible for the things I have done throughout the decades. I made mistakes as well, you were not the only one that ruined our brotherhood. And I did tell you that after today we would be even, so stop with the brooding." I was truly speechless. Was he really saying those things or my mind was playing games with me?

"I...but Katherine..." he waved me off.

"I waited for her, searched for ways to free her, when I finally succeeded she wasn't here. And after everything that has happened lately..." he paused there and I didn't missed the way his eyes traveled towards the entrance of the tomb where Adelle was still sleeping. Did he mean… her? "I am starting to realize that Katherine never did love me, or you. Whatever I had for her wasn't love either, brother, the betrayal is still there, as well as the anger. Trust me on that, I will need a long time till I will be able to think of that woman and not want to slaughter a whole town or better yet her." I averted my eyes at those words, having experienced the same thing years ago when I was free from her compulsion and I found out what Katherine was capable of doing.

"She manipulated us both, Damon, even if she never compelled you, she still lied, still played with both of us. She still didn't care and left." I told him what I had been thinking for the longest time. Damon nodded and I was astonished by how open he was in that moment with me.

"I finally realize that, but it still..."

"It still doesn't hurt less, I know." I continued and took a long breath when his head snapped in my direction. I was preparing myself for him to say something sarcastic, to deny it, to refuse to show weakness in front of me. But he did none of those, in fact after a moment he nodded hesitantly.

And it felt like we were sent back when we were once human, before Katherine came and destroyed that.

"Yes...that." he paused again, before he looked at me and said. "So now what, Stefan?"

I was almost unsure, did he really want me to tell him, or was this a trap? Did he really seek my advice?

"I know that you want to leave, but… I am asking you to stay." I answered. He was silent, and I took that as an invitation for me to continue. "I know that it will take time and it will be...hard, but I want my brother back, Damon. I know that now everything is different, we are different, but I am willing to get to know you, I am willing to...trust you again." It was a long shot, he might laugh in my face.

But he smirked.

"I see that someone has been listening to sleeping beauty over there." he shrugged in the direction where Adelle was and I couldn't hold back a chuckle. He was right.

"You can't deny that she can be persistent." I said and he rolled his eyes, his lips twitching upwards.

"And stubborn." he added.

"Strong headed." was my immediate reply

"Annoying most of the time." Damon then said and I couldn't hold back the laugh, shaking my head. What surprised me was that he too joined me.

"Yes, but Adelle does have a point."

"So what are you suggesting?" he asked. And I thought over that, remembering everything Adelle had talked about, remembering all the things I had imagined saying when I pictured this exact moment happening.

"Start over. All we did to one another, is behind us. I want to have you back in my life, Damon, I am willing to let all judgments and..what did you call it?"

"Brooding." he answered immediately making my eyes roll at his smirking face.

"Yes...and brooding go. I promise to be on your side and to not betray you ever again..." he interrupted me.

"No need for such promises, Stefan." Damon tried to wave me off, but I knew that he just as I needed reassurance.

"No, maybe not, but I am willing to give them, Damon. Even if you say it's stupid or overly dramatic..."

"Okay. Okay, I understand. And fine, if we are doing this… let's say I will do the same, but let's take it one day at a time, Stefan, it's been too long, the gap is too big and we will need..." I decided to add in.

"Time...we will need time."

"Yes." He nodded. "And..." He looked me in the eyes and I knew that whatever he was going to say, my brother meant it. "I promise to be there...as I should have been."

All I was able to do was nod. Because this felt too surreal. Too good to be true, so I was holding on my breath, waiting to wake up or for him to laugh in my face. But Damon did none of this. He nodded in return and I understood that he was waiting for the same thing as me.

But this was the reality and I was really standing in front of my brother, after more than a hundred and so years, and for the first time I had hope, that one day we could be as close as we once were.

Not holding back I stepped towards him and hugged him. For a moment he tensed up but then his right hand went up and patted my back almost reassuring. Making me remember how protective he was when we were human. That loving person was still there, deep down, I now knew it.

"Okay, this is enough...too many emotions, for it to be healthy, Stefan." Damon pulled away and I chuckled, because he was not as used to this as I was.

"Sorry about that..." he waved me off. But then his eyes concentrated on me once again.

"You good with being locked in here?" when he saw that I didn't know what he meant he added. "Blood, Stefan, I mean blood."

I had forgotten about it. But then I was sure that if Sheila did what she promised and let us out of here before Monday morning, I would be good.

"Yeah, it's okay."

* * *

When I woke up the next morning, something felt different. Both Salvatores were acting normal, but I still felt it in my gut that I had missed something. Not that I had the time to think it over as not long after Bonnie and Elena came in and they did not go away, not wanting to leave me alone with the vampires. Elena had talked with Jenna and found out about her mother, she then looked more into it and now had the address where the friend of Isobel lived. She wanted to go and see her Monday after school, and her being her, wanted to do it on her own.

I had no problem with that.

Thankfully, Jenna and Jeremy had no idea what was going on and I was intending on keeping it that way for some time. Bonnie and Stefan had been showing Elena some of the things they could do, at the same time proving to her that she shouldn't be afraid of them. Damon being the ass we all knew he was, didn't miss a chance to gloat over the people he killed while here, which did not have a good response from the two girls.

An aneurism and Stefan diffusing the tension, later, all was good, once again.

I knew why Damon did this, he wanted them both gone, but neither girl was willing to leave my side and I had no part in the decision... so it seemed.

Tyler had called and I had stepped in the back to hear how he was doing, and being the best friend I was- to give him advice on a girl he liked. I talked with Caroline too, you see, and did the same thing with her too, but about Matt.

The whole day felt too normal for it to be, even when you keep in mind that the Salvatores and I were locked in a century old tomb, where more than twenty vampires were killed and now were desiccating in the far back of the tunnel...Yep it was totally a normal day…

Surprisingly though, Sheila showed up later that same evening and she and Bonnie lifted the spell long enough for the brothers to get out. While Damon disappeared almost immediately, Stefan stayed long enough to thank them in the name of both brothers. The older witch in return reminded him to keep a low profile or there would be reciprocation.

And snap, just like that the whole ordeal with the tomb was done and over with.

I expected something more dramatic to happen while there and I had the sneaky feeling that I had missed a hell of a lot more while I was asleep, but then what could have I done? Bonnie and Elena had not left my side even for a moment so I couldn't talk with the brothers. That's why I was waiting for something bad to happen, for Damon to lash out, but there were no reports on missing people, or dead bodies. I knew that the sorority girls that came in and out of the house were alive. Maybe it was because of Stefan spending a lot of time with Damon, doing God knows what, but if I was right and Stefan was the reason for the less dramatic way that Damon reacted to Katherine's betrayal, then I was glad. Stefan had no Elena to distract him and he had more time to be with Damon and slowly repair their relationship.

I hoped that I was right, but then again only time would tell.

Elena was more or less always on my back for the next few days, especially the night when I was no longer in the tomb. I had to stay through a long lecture and my head hurt after that, but then again Elena thought of me as her little sister so all I could do was to stay quiet and wait it out. In the end when she was done, she slept over, which I would have avoided at all costs but the doppelganger needed it to reassure herself I was alright. So I let it go.

With Beluga between us, and her telling me her fears of tomorrow's meeting with the woman who knew her mother, we both fell asleep.

She faster than I, as I had a lot of things on my mind - what to say to Alaric after class and how to make sure that Bonnie would not bail out from the date with the cute waiter Sam?

Ah...and yeah...the lack of done homework I had for this weekend.

Tch.

It sure as hell will be one fun Monday!


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer

I do not own Vampire Diaries. The O.C. is my only original character.

This story will follow the series to some extend, there will be a lot of changes and you will find a partial O.O.C. here.

It will be rated **[M]** for future chapters and yes it will be a **Menage love story/P** **olygamous relationship** , if you don't like please don't read.

I welcome constructive criticism and if you would like to help me with that, please write me a P.M.

Big thanks to my Beta - Kaderin ( _vkdrie . selene_ ) for correcting this chapter! ^w^

 **[!]** Comments. Follows. Any kind of support is highly appreciated. No kidding, it does give the motivation to update faster!

* * *

Chapter 6

Monday morning I was woken up by something wet licking my face, when I finally found out what it was I was met with a happy Beluga, perched next to my head. The puppy had become a lot bigger and I just knew he would be one hell of a fluffy mess after some time. Maybe a year at most.

One year…

Was I going to stay in this place for so long? The longer I was here the more I forgot that this was not real, that somewhere my family was waiting for me. Or even worse that they thought I was dead. While I was getting cozy with the Gilbert's, my sister would have possibly accepted that her baby daughter would never get the chance to meet her aunt. My father would be left with only one child and he and I could never again share those Sunday afternoons where we would lock ourselves in the study room and watch the sport channel, play backgammon or just talk about my life in school. And what about my mum? God...we had planned so many places that we wanted to visit. To travel. I knew her, she would close herself in work till she could not think of anything else, she might as well stop going to the theater which we visited every month.

While I was here helping people that were not part of my dimension or...who knows what...my real life was passing by and I felt like the distance between me and my family was getting bigger and bigger.

This thought scared me.

I was starting to delude myself into thinking that I had a place here, that all those things could replace the people I loved the most...but that was not true. No one could ever do that, no one could ever stop me from going back. But how? How was I supposed to do that when I had nothing? Every resource I had was a dead end, yes I had Sheila, who could find something but, knowing the witches she might come out to be one of those that would think of me as the one shaking the balance of nature. My place was not here, I was playing around with everyone's lives. I couldn't tell Sheila anything remotely important before she'd decide that she must get rid of me and thus restore the balance and fix the mistake made by someone.

But then, what else did I have? What other choice was I left with?

Pushing those thoughts for later, I got dressed and prepared breakfast. Everyone in this house liked to wake up as late as possible and while I was the opposite of this, I liked having the chance to cook and eat. I was not in the mood to talk with anyone, so I took Beluga and my thermos and got out. After Elena found out about the existence of vampires two days ago, she had been watching me like a hawk. Jeremy subtly wanted to spend more time with me, encouraged by his girlfriend and Jenna. And I was not happy. Those two were smothering me with attention that I did not want and were messing with my plans, I had no time to spend with either of them and it was hard to do any research if they were constantly following me around. I just knew that sooner or later they would start asking questions, like why I was buying so many books about astronomy, physics, magic, mythology and etc.

What was I supposed to tell them?

Oh...you know I'm just looking for a way to get back to my dimension where you two are characters from a TV show and I have an accent?

You see how bad this could go?

You may even ask, why am I keeping this secret from the Salvatore's? It's simple, really, they don't know about the existence of wolves, what could they help me with when it comes to something like my...problem? Nothing. At best they would be like the Gilbert's and distract me.

No thank you.

As I was walking Beluga, I took out my phone and checked google maps once more. Soon I was nearing an apartment complex that I knew Alaric Saltzman was living in. Bonnie gave me his address yesterday when I asked for it. My previous plan was to talk with the teacher after school, but I was up early so I thought why not ambush him in his own home?

Yep!

With Beluga next to me I went towards the entrance of the building and to my luck the door wasn't closed properly, so I went in. The hunter lived on the third floor and because there was no lift I took the stair case. At one hand I was holding the leash of my dog, while in the other I had my cup of coffee and a plastic bag with another portion of the beverage and the pancakes I made for the Gilbert's. I was planning on sugaring his opinion and getting on his good side with food. From what I remembered the man was a mess after the debacle with Isobel and was living on take out food and alcohol.

He dearly lacked a female presence in his life. Jenna included. I had no problem with them getting cozy, but she wasn't one of those people that would do something like get him in line. Jenna was okay with his problems and didn't push him to get better. I had other plans. And why not start today, when I was going to out myself? And even if Ric was not okay with me… in general… I would still come here every morning whenever I could and would bring him at least a decent breakfast.

Or I would rope Elena into doing it...she would sooner or later find out that he was her step father, anyway.

Oh and one more thing. I wanted to see Isobel's research and see if there was anything I could find about my situation here.

So I was killing two birds with one stone...or pancake. Whatever.

Standing now in front of the apartment door, I took a deep breath and rang the doorbell. Waiting for him to open up I looked at my watch and saw that I had half an hour before my first class. As I lifted my head, I was met with a sleepy Alaric that was now standing at his entrance. Yes he did have his clothes on and everything but he still looked way out of it. Maybe even a hangover was to be added in.

"Adelle?" I smiled and nodded.

"Good morning, Alaric, I hope that it is not a problem for me to come here? We need to talk and as I was informed you have some questions for me?" I greeted and my forwardness probably shocked him a bit but then he was looking at my dog in question. "Oh, that's Beluga, my dog, you don't mind his presence right?"

"Yes, I mean, no." he stepped away and let us both in. I did however notice how he never said the words 'come in' and I knew he was suspicious. The place was literally a mess but then I didn't really expect anything else. He led us to the kitchen, that at least had no dirty dishes in the sink. "Sorry for the mess, I wasn't expecting anyone." my teacher said awkwardly as I waved his concern off.

"Don't worry about it. I brought some coffee and breakfast, as an apology for disturbing you in your own home." I placed the bag in the kitchen island and took out the things from it. Meanwhile Beluga was sniffing around and Ric was keeping a subtle eye on him, probably expecting the fluffy ball to cause some problem. What he didn't know was that the Samoyed was trained to behave and would never do anything like that.

"You didn't have to, Adelle..."

"Call me Addie, Alaric, and I didn't mind, really. I woke up way early and as usual decided to cook for everyone else, so this is some of the left overs." his eyes betrayed his surprise at me bringing homemade food but he didn't say anything as he motioned for me to take a seat on one of the chairs and he doing the same opposite of me. "It's for you by the way, I already ate and brought my own coffee too." I answered after he made a move to place some of the food in front of me too.

"Thank you, for this Ade...Addie, even if it wasn't necessary." I shrugged and kept quiet while he tentatively took the first bite. "It's really good." he praised and I knew he said it sincerely so I couldn't help but grin.

"Oh! I'm glad! Jeremy is eating everything without a complaint and Elena wouldn't say her honest opinion. So I don't often receive praises from anyone apart from Jenna." I told him and maybe it was the small frown I was showing that made him chuckle.

"Yeah? Well your aunt wasn't lying, it's pretty good." he smiled a little and then a snuffle grabbed his attention. Beluga was sniffing his leg, getting accustomed to the scent. "So this is Beluga?" he asked and I wasn't surprised that he knew about him. He was meeting with Jenna from time to time and she must have told him about the dog.

"The Gilbert's needed a distraction and he turned out to be the perfect one, who could stay mad or sad when an adorable puppy like him is around?" the hunter sent me a strange look and I soon realized my mistake. I had to start referring to the Gilbert's like I was part of them! Thinking quickly I continued. "You like dogs?" the teacher took the bait or just decided not to comment.

"Yes, I had a few back home, but when I moved here I had to let them stay with other families." He explained. Nodding I continued to observe the brown haired man, he looked tired, but put together. I knew that the mission to find what happened to his wife kept him afloat and it was the only reason he wasn't constantly drowning in alcohol. Beluga once again caught our attention as he puffed out at something in the living room and ran towards it. Alaric smiled a little at his cuteness and I was compelled to grab the camera from my shoulder and take a picture.

The click brought his attention to me and I smiled cheekily at his confusion.

"Sorry for that but I couldn't hold myself." I explained.

"You like photography?" he asked and I was surprised that Ric hadn't heard about it already, but then again this man was never one to listen to rumors.

"A hobby, that I can't seem to get rid of." I shrugged and looked down at the preview of the photo. It was good. Ric in the show always had to take care of everything and die while doing so, he barely had the chance to smile so genuinely. "Wherever I go, the camera is with me and when I feel...down, I always find myself taking pictures or making videos. It's sort of my escape." I told him and was shocked by how easy it was to tell him something like that.

Alaric nodded as he finished with the food, now slowly sipping the coffee I brought with appreciation. Yep, that man definitely needed more home cooked food in his life. He didn't even protest much in the beginning when I presented the breakfast to him.

But then again I was an amazing cook too. So…

"Will you tell me what is going on, Adelle?" after a brief silence, Alaric finally asked the question that was hanging over our heads. Taking in a deep breath I was about to open my mouth when a thought hit me. Would he believe me? And why was I even considering this idea? But then I looked at the hunter and remembered everything that he did in the show, I remembered he was a good person that… that could keep my secret.

And I needed to tell someone. I needed to let it out because the longer I kept it hidden the more I felt like I was suffocating.

"You may not believe me, if I was in your place I would certainly wouldn't, but please at least let me tell you all of it?" I asked, almost afraid, peering at his brown eyes that were regarding me with concern.

Did I looked so scared? Well I had a good reason to be.

Take a deep breath, Add.

"I..." the words wouldn't come out of my mouth.

Okay, what the hell? Shit!

It felt like something was in my throat and I couldn't say it. I couldn't tell Alaric the truth!

Was I compelled?

Was I … magically stopped from telling anyone?

A shock went through my whole body, it almost hurt with how hard I tried to talk. Then a thought came to me, it was almost deranged, like someone whispered in my ear but it felt like I was the one thinking it.

Fuck...I was going insane.

 _'Not him.'_

The words I heard...or thought...or...whatever, those two words made me keep my mouth shut.

"Adelle, is everything alright?" asked my teacher with a questioning look. I can just imagine how strange I must have looked from his point of view. Quickly shaking my head, I put myself together and pushed back the freaking out for later.

"Yes. I'm sorry. It's just hard...and...I...look, when my parents died, I found the old family journals. There I found out about the existence of vampires. At first I didn't believe it, but then Stefan showed up and I noticed the signs." he nodded slowly, probably wanting to say something but then stopping himself to let me continue. "His brother is Damon, so I put two and two together. From the same journals I found out that Bonnie came from a line of witches and when she started to practice I noticed that too. In the end all of them came out and told me the whole truth."

"Which is?" he asked, eyes hard with the mention of Damon.

"Bonnie just recently found out about her powers, I don't know how much you know, Alaric, but she would never hurt anybody. I trust her with my life. Stefan is a vampire. I know he is capable of killing and when he told me more I found out that he had done it numerous times, when being a Ripper..." from there, I told him briefly about the emotional on/off switch, how that made him uncontrollable. I told Ric about his diet and how that changes him completely and that Stefan doesn't want to kill anyone, that he feels so much grief and regret it pushes him to hold onto his humanity.

"What about his brother...Damon? What do you know about him?" the hunter asked me and I knew he was fishing for information. Surprisingly he accepted Stefan, even if he had great reservations, Alaric being a hunter and all that jazz, but when I mentioned how he had helped me, how good he was, maybe that made him consider it.

"Damon is something else...He.." I didn't want to tell him the whole story, but I did share with him that he had no feelings, but that did not make him a ripper like Stefan. I explained what he was doing here and then I told him about the tomb and a little bit about Katherine.

"How can you agree to help him, Adelle?" Alaric asked me after I was finished. I knew that he didn't want to hear anything good about the man who killed his wife, but that did not stop me from trying, maybe it could prevent a lot of bad things from happening.

"Because he and Stefan are brothers, because this woman, I told you about, changed them, for the worst, and that of course doesn't forgive what they have done and it never will, but I know that just as there is good in Stefan, there is good in Damon too. I believe that no matter what damage there is between them, they could be brothers one day. They could put it all behind them." I explained. Alaric looked at me, strangely, probably thinking I was insane, but there was no judgment. At least not towards me.

"But...why you?"

"Because if something like this happened between me and my sister, if we one day hated each other, betrayed one another, severing our bond, I would give anything to have somebody to help us out, to bring us back together. Maybe it's selfish, but every time I look at those men, I see me and my sister and I just can't stop myself from wanting to do something about it." I gulped, realizing that I was on the verge of saying my big sister's name and not Elena, I should be very careful.

My history teacher, regarded me for a long time, contemplating. I was staring at Beluga laying in the living room, trying to hold in my emotions. Just the thought of me and my sis not getting along, made my insides turn.

"How did you know I was a hunter, Adelle?" Ric chose to change the subject, and I understood why he didn't want to talk good things about the man he was here to kill.

"I saw the ring you're wearing." I motioned to his hand. Surprise graced his face.

"What do you know about it?" he probed deeper.

"My father had the same one, but I can't find it anywhere, my uncle John is in possession of the second one. I know that they are given from generation to generation in our family. It's supposed to bring luck and protect the one who wears it." I told him not missing how realization dawned on his features.

Yep, I had him where I wanted him.

"My...my wife gave it to me...she...Isobel, told me the same thing. I didn't know it was …." the confusion was evident. I would have reacted the same way in his position, good thing he had a girl from another dimension to tell him exactly what was going on.

Heh. Or push him towards the right path…

I loved knowing all the secrets. I just loved it!

"It wasn't only because of the ring, though. I saw some of your...weapons in you car, one day after school, so after that it wasn't so hard to understand what was going on...but I have a question, too. Why are you here, Ric?" the hunter was in deep thought before I posed the question, I bet he was considering many options in his head of what could be going on and I just hoped he would tell me the truth, so I could stop pretending not to know it.

"Damon Salvatore killed my wife."

Well, at least I could never say this man wasn't direct.

Then he essentially re-told me what I already knew, I was surprised he would do that after hearing my opinion of Damon, but then again he might have been trying to make me hate the vampire.

"But you never found her body?" I asked, trying to make him see Isobel 'might' not be dead.

Duh.

"I want to know what happened, I want to find closure, Adelle, but I can't do that if the killer of my wife is still breathing." my breath hitched, all I saw was a man who lived just so he could make it right, to make sure that the one who took away his love was going to suffer. I could understand him, I felt for him, but all of this anger, all of this hatred was directed towards the wrong person.

"I will help you." I said and that caught his attention. We were both lost in our own thoughts, so for the first time in the last few minutes Alaric looked at me, carefully, like he was seeing me for the first time and the question that was surfacing in his head was clear too.

"Why?"

"Because I know what it feels like to not know what happened with the person you love." I smiled tiredly, remembering, that out there my family waited for me, that I had a life to go back to. "I want to help you find out what happened to your wife, Ric. Just because I can't find my answers, that doesn't mean I can't assist with yours." shrugging I looked at my watch and saw that we were both late, class has already started. Before I could tell my teacher that, he stood up and walked around the table in the kitchen so he would be in front of me.

"I can't make you do this, Adelle." the seriousness in his voice pushed me to stand up too, no liking that he thought I was a useless and fragile teenager.

"No you just think I will be of no use to you." his eyes got bigger after I said that and we both ignored Beluga who was whining next to us, sensing the fight that was going on.

"That's not true." he shook his head. "I can't make you do anything, so I can't tell you to stop seeing the Salvatore's, but you are constantly in danger when you are with them, Addie. I don't want to get you in the middle of something that could get you killed." I took a deep breath, he was just worried.

Alaric cared enough not to use me as a means to get what he was after. And thus he proved to me once more what an amazing man he was. And what an idiot Isobel had been to choose an eternity instead of him.

Tch.

"You said it yourself, Alaric." I looked at him straight in the eyes, showing that I was not backing off, that he has no say in the matter. "Damon is dangerous, you know that after what happened in the tomb few days ago, he will be unstable and he would kill you before you had the chance to find the truth."

"Why are you still on his side if you know what he is capable of doing?" he asked me, interrupting me. I held back a glare and reminded myself that for someone that knew so little, as of yet, he had the right to ask me that.

"With time you will know." was my own cryptic answer that was sure to confuse him, but then again I can't tell him that Damon, the man that killed his wife, would in the future be his best friend. Could I? Ignoring the confusion I continued. "I can help you, by getting you the chance to answer the questions you have. Give me a day, Alaric." I pleaded.

The plan formed itself while I was talking. It was stupid and very much possible to bite me and the teacher in the ass, but then again it was better than him being killed by Damon. If I could skip some of those parts in their relationship, those two could be friends faster.

Who knew, they could be each other's reason and support to get over the heartbreak, for real.

Bromance – 1 versus Elena/Jenna feelings – 0.

And just like that...BAM...next time they fall in love it would be a true one, for people that were real, that would return it with no question, and most importantly they would not transfer their emotions to another woman.

Yep...That would be one lucky accomplishment on my part.

While I was in deep thoughts, imagining the best outcome of my plan, Alaric was lost in his own mind, probably considering my proposal.

"Okay." he sighed and I grinned. "But you have to understand, he took her away from me, if I get the chance I will kill Damon." Alaric warned me and I saw the hunter in him, the man seeking vengeance and he was not kidding.

"I will not meddle in this. All I want is for you to find the truth, what you do after that, how you react, who you kill or how you die because of it, will be all because of you." I told him just as seriously and maybe it was the calm way I spoke about death and revenge that shocked him because he once again had that look in his eyes, like he was trying to understand how a teenager like me could feel so comfortable talking and being in the middle of a supernatural mess.

Well, he would have a hard time finding out, that was for sure.

"You're talking about all of this like it's normal, Adelle." my teacher stated and even if he was searching for information I still saw the concern in him.

Maybe I thought of the hunter as someone that looked like my father a little, maybe it was because he had a pure heart, even after everything he went through and would go through in the future, but I wanted to help him. To guard him as much as possible, because no one deserves the pain and sorrow he would feel over and over again.

If I had to be completely honest, his eyes reminded my of my dad, and when they shone with worry for my well being, I remembered all the times when my father would console me when something bad happened. Call me selfish but I wanted to keep this man close, just so I could see those eyes often, they were the only close thing to a real reminder of the people I love, of the people I was ready to do anything to get back to.

"I had almost two months to get used to this." I explained remembering his question.

Alaric nodded slowly and then his eyes caught something behind me and before I could ask what, he jumped.

"We're late!" then he turned around, running towards his bedroom...I think, and came back with his jacket and a bag. I was grinning from ear to ear as he dodged the jumping puppy, that got excited from the panicking teacher.

"Did you come with your car?" he then turned to me and I shook my head, while getting my own bag, throwing away the cold coffee.

"I'll give you a ride." Alaric said and was already at the front door when he finally noticed Beluga. "Ugh..."

"I suppose we don't have time to get him back to my house?" I asked holding back the laugh that wanted to bubble out of my lips as I was witnessing the stare down between a vampire hunter and a Samoyed.

"He..we can't bring him to school either." Ric then said, still not looking away from the puppy.

"No we can't." I shook my head and stepped closer, pulling out my camera and taking a photo of the hilarious pair in front of me. Ric snapped his head in my direction seeing what the sound was from and rolled his eyes at the obvious grin I was sporting.

"He does something and I…." I didn't let him finish, waving my hand in dismissal.

"His name is Beluga, please call him that Alaric." I winked at the dog that came to me. "And he is trained so there should be no problem for a few hours, just..." I looked around the kitchen, grabbed a deep platter and filled it with water. Turning towards the hunter for confirmation that he had no problem with it, I then put it on the floor next to the front door, where the puppy could drink from it if he wanted. "Done!" grinning I stepped out of the apartment, patiently waiting for Ric to come after me and he did, with a defeated expression on his face.

"Jenna, wasn't kidding." he shook his head as I followed him to his car, and we took of.

"What did she say?" I asked curiously, looking at him, while we passed one neighborhood after another. He was a good driver.

"That whatever you want to do you would do it, one way or another." he spared me a glance and then turned towards the road. I laughed at his words and shrugged not really protesting. Because in a way my out-of-the-normal-dimension aunt was right.

When we got to school, we parted ways as I went to my class and he to a teachers meeting. After getting a tardy, I sat next to Bonnie who was next to Elena and Caroline, Stefan was nowhere to be found but I wasn't surprised as he was probably looking after Damon so he would not go all serial killer on all of us.

Good cause!

* * *

It was the last class for the day.

' _Everything alright? - Ad.'_ I sent the younger brother a text, skilfully doing it while not being caught.

"This Sunday is Miss Mystic Falls pageant!" whisper yelled Caroline to all three of us. Oh...wow, I had forgotten about it...nope I was kidding, I would have though, but Care had not stopped talking about it the whole day and yesterday too. After Elena found out about the true identity of her friends, she wasn't as excited as previously, but then again her mother had encouraged her to participate so she was doing it none the less.

"Miss Forbes, is there something you would like to share with the class?" asked our teacher and we all hid our laughter at how embarrassed she got at getting caught.

"No, Sir. I'm sorry."

Bonnie shook her head, while Lena smiled amused but then the doppelganger looked at me and she became all lost in her thoughts. I would be too, after school she was going to find some information about her mother.

That would be nerve wrecking for any of us.

' _I was prepared for worse. - Stefan_.'

'Am I to expect news about missing campers? - Ad.'

' _No. - Stefan._ '

'So sorority party it is, huh? ;) - Ad.'

What I got as a response made me choke on my own spit.

' _Stop distracting my brother, Adelle. - Damon.'_ but what made me hyperventilate was the picture that came with the message. It was of a party, most probably in Whitmore, a third person had taken the shot and it had drunk college people all over the place and the Salvatores in the middle of it. From the looks of it, they were both drinking and I was mere seconds away from jumping up from my seat and sending this picture to every person I had on my phone.

How could this happen and why I was not involved in it? Like for real? When did this change of dynamic happen between the brothers that they would go to a party...together? WHEN?

Completely ignoring the curious looks from my friends I stood up and asked for permission to go to the toilet. When I was finally out, I facetimed Damon, knowing that Stefan would be more or less embarrassed to tell me the whole story. I waited for a second and then the vampire in question answered. It was good that I was outside, because the booming music coming from their end was going to shake the building. And seriously? We were in the middle of the day, where did they find a crazy party like that?

 _"Well, if it isn't Adelle Gilbert, self proclaimed savior of the_ _Salvatores_ _relationship!_ " Damon grinned at the camera and I could see that he was half drunk, half high...probably. His eyes were hooded, the grin didn't reach his blue orbs but he still looked deviant and...yeah..okay I will say it – Sexy. Happy? His hair was all over the place, bodies were grinding on him, around him and the music was so loud that I was surprised to hear him at all. " _If you can't see we are busy_." he stated but then like someone had grabbed him, he was walking out of the party to some place quieter, like … a backyard. Or something. There were still a lot of people, but the music wasn't so booming and I could see him clearly, as there were no more lights, changing colors over him. His head then turned left, face transforming into an annoyed one as he said. " _Stef, didn't we ma_ _k_ _e a deal?_ "

Stefan then took the phone and stood so I could see him and Damon in the background who was quickly catching the attention of two women. And he liked it.

" _Adelle...is...is everything okay?_ " the younger brother then asked me, sparing back a glance at the other vampire that was flirting shamelessly with the two blonds. When he looked back at me I was positive that he had been drinking too, his clothes were wrinkled, and his hair was a mess just like his brother. But instead of the satisfied grin that Damon had, he looked worried like I would lash out at him for something.

For what?

Huh…

But then if you looked past that, I saw that Stefan was more relaxed then I have ever seen when he was in the presence of the older Salvatore.

"Don't look at me like that, Stefan, the only thing I am mad about is that both of you ditched me here and went partying without me!" I exclaimed and maybe it was the playfulness that I had in my voice or the big smile, that caught both of their attention, surprise evident on their faces.

I rolled my eyes.

" _What_?" asked me Damon, like he thought he heard wrong. Yeah...not possible, he was a freaking vampire!

"Did both of you expect that I would shout at you or...what? Tell you to come back and...I don't know...reprimand you like little kids?" I shook my head, ignoring the amazement that showed in Stefan's eyes and the glares sent to me by the two blonds who were completely ignored as Damon stepped closer to the phone, next to Stefan. "I'm not your mother, and as a friend, which I am, even if you try to deny it, Damon." I spared him a pointed look. "I think that this is the best freaking idea that both of you could have come up with!"

Waving my hands, accidentally doing it with the one holding the phone too, probably blurring out the video call. When I finally came into focus, Damon had taken the phone as Stefan looked at him annoyed.

" _Let me get this straight._ " he stared at me, blue eyes penetrating mine, even through the phone. " _You are fine with us getting drunk, drinking blood.._ " ignoring the ' _hey_ ' from Stefan that glared at him. " _...and sleeping just for the hell of it with unsuspecting victims?_ "

I would be laughing at how Stefan was trying to take back the phone and Damon pushed him away, both acting like teenage brothers, fighting over a toy. It was almost endearing. But maybe it was the alcohol playing it's part too. But I held it back because I had the feeling that the question Damon was posing meant something more then I was aware of.

Was he testing me again? And why was Stefan on the verge of biting his head off for saying those things?

Shaking my head from the thoughts, I answered them honestly, catching their attention completely, thus making them stop pushing one another.

"Stefan needs to let loose from time to time, being so serious is not healthy even for a vampire. You on the other hand just found out that you were betrayed and played by the woman you waited for more than a century and a half. If I was in your place I would have massacred the entire party, drowned myself in blood and alcohol and killed some more. So I am all for you two getting your freak on...or whatever! Need I remind you, both of you, that I would never judge you?" I looked at them, trying to see if my words were of any meaning to them and the intensity I saw in both of their eyes proved that they were listening.

Maybe it was because of the connection, or my eyes were deceiving me, but some emotions played on their faces...making my skin burn...but then it was all a mask.

" _Adelle, you know that I can't drink human blood._ " said Stefan from his position just behind Damon, who had been staring at me like he wasn't even blinking.

"Do whatever you two feel like will get you free from her." I stopped him from saying anything else. "Katherine played both of you, she ruined your relationship, she played you and used you." I ignored the hurt that skirted over Damon's face and how Stefan's eyes shifted away like he was ashamed. "I might be harsh but I am saying what none of you wants to admit, yes, Stefan might had gotten over it decades ago, but I know that the betrayal of someone who you once trusted could affect you even after so much time. If it means spending your time in a sorority for a week or more, or killing, drinking, sleeping around, Damon do whatever you think will help you get over it. But if you accept my advice, don't push Stefan away, because if my sister was in your place I would do anything I could to make it better, no matter how much she denies it, no matter how much you both still don't trust each other."

I took a deep breath, surprised that the older vampire hadn't lashed out at me for butting my nose where it doesn't belong, but the Salvatore's were just standing there, completely ignoring the party goers around them, as they stared at me stunned.

Yep...okay…

Weren't they gonna say something.

"Look." I continued. "Maybe I haven't gone through what you are right now, and maybe I have no right to say anything, but I know that only time and family could get you through it, Damon. And you are lucky to have both, even if you are this dangerous, killing vampire, that could murder whoever he wishes and thinks that all he needs is himself." I shrugged and then heard that class was over so I had to get going. "Stefan, while being there let loose a little, have fun. Everyone needs it from time to time." I winked then glared playfully at him as he smiled a little. "And next time, you two will take me with you!"

Damon chuckled, getting over the stunned pause he was in while I rambled, he was now shaking his head, like he couldn't believe what just happened. I pulled my tongue out, childish I know, but then I didn't like it when he made fun of my emotional speeches!

Nuh-huh, mister!

" _Careful Adelle, you_ _'re_ _starting to sound like you care about me._ " the raven haired man smirked and I titled my head a little on one side, seriously looking at him, asking myself – did he just realize that?

"Because I do." I answered, shrugging, saying it like it was the most obvious thing in the world...which I thought it was. Did the vampire think I was rambling motivational talks to every man I saw? Nope! Just him and Stefan. Ignoring his disbelieving eyes, I continued, "Don't look so surprised, Damon." seeing as people were getting out of the building it was time to end the call. "I will see you guys...well..whenever you decide to come back!" I grinned cheekily. "Have fun! I mean it!"

And like that I shut the phone, interrupting whatever Stefan was about to say. Too bad.

Not.

My plan was working better than I thought! Those two were partying together! Even if Stefan was tagging along ignoring the protests of Damon, or vise versa…

It didn't matter! They were spending time together!

* * *

After school I dragged Tyler with me to go grocery shopping.

"Don't you have food in your house? What's with all of those stuff?" the future wolf huffed as he walked next to me in annoyance while I looked at the frozen peas on my right.

In the stroller I had already put a few things, essentials and what not, like tea, vegetables and fruits. My friend had the right to be exasperated as we had spent more than an hour in the shop, so he as a guy was getting on his last nerve to indulge me while I was shopping for food that would go in the boarding house.

Yes, you heard right.

The boarding house.

Why?

Simple, because I was certain that the Salvatore's had nothing edible in their kitchen and for my plan I needed to cook. The blood was out of question as I knew that Alaric would not get the sarcasm in the situation he would find himself in.

What was I talking about? Well, dear whoever you are, I was planning on making a dinner at the vampires residence and inviting without their knowledge the hunter who was after one of the brothers.

Suicidal? Hm..probably.

But hear me out, before you all start on rambling about the numerous flaws in the idea, please?

…

Thank you.

So you see, when those party goers came back from their binge … night? Week? I was going to nicely barge in and innocently propose to make dinner as a welcome back to Mystic Falls. Stefan being the nice guy he was, would not think much of it and I was more than sure that Damon would be to busy being half drunk already to start questioning me. Zach had long ago left our nice little town so there would be no interruptions.

Next stage would be me telling Stefan and Damon about what was going on with Elena, as she was right now not talking with either of them. So still none of them would be up to date with the real mother of the doppelganger. Innocently I would connect the dots between Elena's Isobel and Alaric's Isobel and tadaaa the hunter would then knock on the front door!

The tricky part would be to make sure that Damon doesn't kill him before they both got their answers, and I had to make sure that Ric would not start shooting wooden darts at the raven's ass all before stepping in the house.

If everything went well, there would be drinking, storytelling, Stefan's brooding and the truth.

If not, my teach had his resurrection ring so all would go more or less dandy!

Why was I making this my problem, you would ask me next?

First I wanted to leave it to Damon and Ric to do all of the work, but things were developing way too slowly for my liking and the faster those two got over the need to kill each other the faster they would become not-friends-but-totally-friends and Damon would have another shoulder to cry on about his love stabbing him in the back.

You see?

And...Because of the coffee I had while waiting for Tyler to be done with his practice and the ten minutes I spent with Elena making sure she would not back down and go visit Trudy, I had become so energetic that few more stupid ideas came to my mind.

As I was choosing which ice cream was better and the Lockwood was grunting next to me to just pick both, I was imagining how good or bad this dinner could go. As it was tradition in this town, every event that happened here, had the great possibility of turning into a disaster, so I was making a plan B and C and D just so I could be sure.

And yes, plan B included truth or dare and plan C was all about vegan ice cream with blood on top as a syrup.

Yep. The third cup of coffee was just a tiny bit over kill...

…

Whatever.

Because seriously? If you had access to a fridge filled with blood bags and you were a junky for home made food, would you judge me for wanting to experiment with the two things as you had two vampire brothers who somehow unexplainably still kept you alive even if in 80% of the time you annoyed the living daylights out of them?

No? Yes?

Well, call me when you are in my position so we could swap ideas. Or recipes where adding blood could actually be good.

And yes, I slept very little and had too much time to think even for things like this.

Spare me the looks.

When we were done with shopping, I left Tyler at his house and drove towards Alaric's. By now my teacher slash hunter slash something like a step-step father was at his apartment so I could go and take Beluga back. What I found when I got there wasn't even in the building. My history teacher was sitting on a bench in front of the entrance, sunglasses on and a folder in hand while my puppy was laying next to him all happy and content.

Traitor!

This dog loved everybody! Like how was it possible? The Samoyed was acting like Ric was his owner! When Alaric saw me I was almost certain that he hid a blush by turning for a moment in the other direction. Cute!

"Adelle. I was just going to call for Beluga...I...I mean the dog." I held back an eye roll already knowing that he had no intention of doing that. The puppy had this effect on people, they instantly liked him, first Damon now Alaric. If he could speak I would have asked for his secret, but those thoughts were for another time.

"Sorry for dropping him on your head. I assume that there was no problem in the apartment when you got back?" I asked and went to seat next to Ric, scratching Beluga, who was more than happy to see me.

"Don't worry about it. And surprisingly no." Ric smiled a little, and I nodded, already sure of it. "You have a nice dog, Adelle."

"Thank you." I grinned in return and then after a small chat that conveniently left out any talk about supernatural things, the puppy and I left.

My next stop was the Salvatore's place. I knew they were not there and while Zach was absent, I was gambling with the possibility that there was no way for me to enter.

Taking the three bags from the back seat, I strode to the front door and looked around for some plants or a place where a key could be hidden.

No such luck. The door was locked as well.

Oh okay, so the brother's weren't so stupid.

Taking out my phone I searched for the contact I needed.

" _Adelle_?"

"Jeremy, if you were about to trespass in a house, when no one was home but the door was locked, and there was no key around, how would you do it?" I asked seriously, still looking around me.

".. _.Wait, what?_ " I groaned looking at the sky. Was this such a strange question? Like seriously?

"Just answer me Jer." I told him and there was another pause.

" _Are you shitting me right now_?" the hormonal brat on the other side of the line asked me.

"I'm quite serious actually."

" _Why do you need to … who are you...? I...Adelle are you …._ " this dimensions brother stuttered and I held back an eye roll.

Calm down Ad, not everyone was as fast thinking and drinking in indulgence coffee. Give him time...nah..

"Salvatore's house. I need to break in the Salvatore's house." I elaborated after another few seconds of him mumbling something.

" _Stefan's home? Why? Is he not there?_ "

Grrr!

"I am bringing food, they need food in their fridge, and yes no one's home." there you go! Don't ever say that I lie to the kid non stop.

Another pause.

And an eye roll.

" _I...food…why would you...? Okay, you know what? Whatever. Check the back door, every house has it and a lot of people forget to lock it. If not see if there is a window somewhere that is open._ " It wasn't so hard was it?!

"Thank you Jeremy!" I grinned.

" _Yeah...you are welcome...I guess?_ "

Walking around the house I saw the door he was speaking of and stepped towards it...yep, it was unlocked!

Good, now it was time to stock the fridge!

* * *

When I got back home…The Gilbert's house...I was met with the curious stare of the little brother and the seemingly oblivious Jenna.

"I got the memo, what is this meeting about?" I asked stepping in the kitchen and finally seeing Elena who looked paler than normal. She seemed anxious and I knew she was about to tell Jeremy and Jenna what she found from her meeting with Trudy. I expected that she would skip the whole part with the vampire business, but then I was wrong.

Boy... was I wrong.

It took a lot for someone to surprise me in this dimension where I have seen everything when watching TV. But then again people were able to change, the Salvatore's being an example of that, so I should not have been so shell shocked when Elena spilled the beans.

Like...all of them!

"I am adopted." she started and then explained to Jer who was the only one out of the loop about it. He was unsurprisingly stunned...but quickly reassured his big sis that she was still his family...or like he said:

"Elena, it doesn't matter, you are still mine and Adelle's big sister. Nothing has changed."

I nodded mutely, holding back the sarcastic comment after seeing the shine in Jenna's eyes who became witness to the whole family bonding thing.

Yada yada yada.

That wasn't so interesting.

The doppelganger then shared her adventure with meeting the friend of her real mother and retold us the whole meeting.

"Isobel had been a cheerleader like I was. She was interested in..." blah blah...

You know the usual stuff.

Yeah, I might have been less supportive and more sarcastic than usual but the coffee was wavering quicker than I was expecting and all I was witnessing was something that I have seen before.

And let's be honest, I was bitter.

Bitter because these people were not my family, no matter how long I stayed here. Yes I did start caring for them, I wasn't made of stone, but the thought of me being in my own real kitchen surrounded by my real parents and sister just tampered down my mood.

I was jealous. Because no matter how much crap those Gilbert's will go through in the future they still had each other. Elena will always have Jeremy and vice versa. And I was alone.

So sue me. I don't care. I was a teen that was having a mini existential crisis, because I was plucked away from my world and dumped here in a TV show universe.

Uhg.

Amidst my mental rant her next words almost knocked me down on my ass.

"Something else happened, and I don't want to keep it secret anymore, it's too dangerous and you should know."

I stared at her, eyes wide, barely holding back the frantic wave of hands to stop her from continuing. Was she serious? That was so far from the original that I thought I heard wrong! On the series, Elena kept the secret of vampires so stubbornly that Jenna found out more or less just before she was sacrificed in an ancient ritual!

"Wait? Vampires? What do you mean vampires? Elena are you okay?"

My shock must have made me deaf for a few moments because when I was back to paying attention Elena was explaining the existence of blood suckers. She was putting me in the middle of it and more or less retelling what happened under the noses of the other two Gilbert's in the past two months. I was so shocked that I couldn't open my mouth and stop her or answer the questions from Jenna and Jeremy.

Elena was essentially spilling the whole thing. From the story of the Salvatore's, to her cloning of Katherine and how that pushed her to find out about her real mother. Then she told them about the tomb, me being locked in there and Bonnie being a witch.

The silent pause that overwhelmed us after that was just that – a pause before all of Hell broke loose.

Jenna and Jeremy were not believing her but then she showed them the bite mark left from when Ben had abducted her. Then Bonnie was called to come and show some 'tricks' while the doppelganger explained the part of the Gilbert family in the whole story. I was staying silent the entire time as I begged whoever put me here to just grab me and … I don't know ... transfer me in another show, maybe? Like Supernatural? Or...where I would not have an annoying sibling that would spill all the secrets that I kept so carefully hidden for the moment!

Was she insane? Like okay, cool, it's good idea to be informed and Jenna and Jeremy would be safer like that. But to give away all of this info in one go? What was she thinking?

Ah...yeah...she must have been inspired by the few speeches I had for her, where I told her to keep the family close and be there for them and...yeah...be a better sibling...but she brought the whole thing to another level!

When poor Bonnie came, Jenna was in mid rant about how Elena must have been over exaggerating while Jeremy threw nasty glances in my direction, huffing and puffing like a teen who was kept out of the loop and was not happy about it. He was accepting things pretty quickly, being convinced after Elena showed the bite mark.

The witch was forced to move a few objects, light some candles and yeah...you know, make sure Jenna didn't hit her head when she fainted from the shock a second later.

The obvious stuff.

That's when it all became too much. We moved the body of 'our' aunt from the kitchen to the living room and I was still totally ignoring Jeremy while he transformed into a fanboy over the powers of the Bennett witch. That lasted exactly 1 minute and was abruptly interrupted when our guardian came back to the living and had a melt down.

The said melt down followed the normal stages. First was denial. Then was anger. After that, questioning. Then self loathing about how she managed to miss it all for two months. Some tears for a finishing touch and voila…then came the blame.

And who was in the center of it?

Guess! I dare you. It's pretty obvious.

Yep. Me.

"Why didn't you tell us?"

"Why did you keep it a secret?"

"How could you put yourself in such danger?"

"I don't want you anywhere near those men!"

Etc. Etc.

I stayed quiet till she and Jeremy were done with the ranting and the screaming and were left with shallow breathing and red faces.

I just knew that I was finding myself in a very fragile situation. Like no kidding, if I didn't choose my next sentences carefully, I would probably find myself sent to a boarding school or something.

Ugh.

So I took the high road and played the sacrificial card of a girl who had lost her parents. And it wasn't so hard...in a way I did loose my family...just not permanently.

"Look, I know that whatever I say you will be mad at me. I shouldn't have kept this a secret, I know, but I was trying to protect you. I didn't want to put you in the middle of something that could be more than dangerous." I looked at all of them. I felt like I was repeating myself. The same speech I gave Alaric, before that Elena, Sheila and Bonnie...GOD!

"When I found out the truth about Stefan and Damon they had already became close to me. I knew that Stefan would never hurt any of us and as Elena here told you, Damon is a little more special. The moment I knew all about it I tried to do everything to protect you. The tea you drink Jenna and the coffee you two have each morning has vervain in it. The necklace that Care has is laced with the same herb that as my sis told you stops vampires from manipulating you. I kept them away till I was sure that nothing would happen to you. The tomb had to be opened too, Elena told you of Katherine, we needed to know more about that, but as you found out that was a dead end."

Taking a deep breath I waited a little seeing as Jeremy had a question.

"But...but why do you keep being around them? If everything Lena said is true why..." I sighed. Remember Ad, they had no idea what was going on, keep your cool, any normal human would ask those things.

"Call me stupid, but...after our...parents died, we became distant and family was something that I would always fight for, no matter how bad things were between us. I felt passionate when I saw Stefan and Damon. They were brothers that had destroyed their relationship because of a woman, I just couldn't stand it. Maybe it is because all I have left is...you...but I didn't want to leave them alone, no matter how dangerous it was and still is for me. I somehow tried to bring them back together. You Jenna, as a psychology major, might see it as a way for me to cope with the loss. But I think...I believe that everyone deserves a second chance and somehow if I didn't help them, two people I just got to know, how could I help...keep this family together?"

Okay...wow, I sounded more sincere then I believed I could. The hard gazes that they sent me at first became warmer, Elena and Bonnie were already used to the idea of me not staying away from the blood suckers. I just had to do the same thing with the other two Gilberts.

"Oh..Adelle..." Jenna then came and hugged me while Jeremy let out a long sigh. When the aunt pulled away she looked at me sternly. "I want to speak with Stefan. No matter the oblivious failure I have been for the past months, I still have to make sure that he will not hurt you...I just..."

"Okay, I will call him." I nodded understanding that she needed this more than the rest of us. To reassure herself.

Jer then glared at Elena and me, not happy for being lied to for so long, but my speech was damn good so the brat couldn't hold the grudge for too long. And let's be real, this time him finding out turned to be way way better than in the show. So he should be thankful. If only he knew..

"What else did you keep from us?" he asked and I was thankful that Elena took over and told us all about her concern that Isobel might be a vampire or...dead.

When she was done, Jenna had enough for the night and went to bed. Jeremy had a few more questions towards Bonnie who from the looks of it didn't mind showing of her powers. She then slept over and before bed I pulled Elena aside and told her my 'suspicions' of the connection between her Isobel and the one that Alaric was the ex husband of.

She was more than shocked so I convinced her to speak with him tomorrow after school and I knew he would show her a photo, she would recognize her and BAM. One less secret to keep!

I just hoped that Damon and Stefan would not be in town yet so the older brother wouldn't be met with the huffing girl.

Well..I couldn't control everything!

* * *

The next morning as I was making breakfast, with an hour to spare before anyone else would wake up, I received a text.

 _'We are back in MF. - Stefan.'_

I grinned as unexplainable happiness bubbled in me. I hadn't seen either of the brothers for less then few days but I realized that I missed them. I was jealous that they must have spent their time partying while I was locked here having to endure the interrogation of the year. Where was the justice in this?

And it was all about their secret.

Tch. I do hope, for their own good, that the time spent getting wasted made them at least a tad bit closer. Huh.

'How was it? - Ad.'

I was putting in a bag two portions of the breakfast I made as well as my thermos and a second one with the heavenly beverage.

' _I want to see you. - Stefan._ ' scrunching my eyebrows a bit in question I typed in.

'Won't I see you in school? - Ad.'

' _Not today. - Stefan._ '

Choosing to not ask him more I bit my lip and prayed that my plan would work.

'How about I come tonight and make dinner? - Ad.' not more than few seconds later he answered.

' _And here I thought that some ghost was living in the house and liked to have food in the normally empty fridge. Should I ask how you did it or_ _not_ _? - Stefan._ '

Holding back a giggle, that was totally a new reaction from my part, I picked my stuff up and got to the car.

'I don't know what you are talking about, Stef ;). - Ad.'

Laughing a bit I waited for his response.

' _Damon will be here. - Stefan._ ' so what? That was the idea!

'Even better! :) - Ad.'

' _You are welcome whenever you decide to come, but that didn't stop you the last time did it? - Stefan._ '

And cue the giggle. Shit I was transforming into a … a… ugh...whatever! Don't judge me but from time to time it is still so surreal to be texting Stefan Salvatore slash Paul Wesley! I wasn't made out of stone! Like any girl I could appreciate the finer things in life.

So…

SWOON!

'Great! See you later! - Ad.'

I had succeeded in starting my plan by getting an invitation for a dinner that I myself was preparing. It does sound strange...but then my whole existence here defied laws so it was no big deal. Few minutes later I was back in front of the building where Alaric lived. You all by now should understand that I am one of the most insolent people there is. So I had no problem in using the chill attitude that the teacher had around himself and that stopped him from right out telling me to buzz off, to my advantage.

"Adelle? Is something wrong?" asked the hunter the second he saw it was me that knocked on his door. Letting me in I went straight to the kitchen where I deposited of all the food I had brought with me.

"Nope, just thought that you needed at least one decent meal a day." I grinned cheekily. Alaric looked at me strangely and then saw the breakfast that was now filling the room with nice aroma.

"You don't have to do this, Adelle. I..." waving him off I said.

"If you don't want me here, just say it, Ric. No hard feelings." waiting for his response he shook his head and stepped around me, bringing out two plates and forks.

"It's not that, Adelle, but this? Bringing me food, you..."

"Did you like the breakfast yesterday?" I opted to interrupt once more, wanting to get over that as soon as possible. He nodded. "And I like cooking. I wake up too early, have nothing to do, you are on my way and you are a good company. And no I am not doing it for an A in history." he chuckled a little shaking his head disbelievingly but then let me do what I wanted which won him a big grin in return.

After that we ate, some in silence, the other filled with him telling me more about his life.

It was nice.

When we were done, he was placing the dishes in the sink and I was drinking my coffee.

"Why are you really doing this, Adelle?" he asked me.

"It's not because of sympathy." I shot right back knowing he was probably thinking about it. And I was right because his tense shoulders relaxed a bit and he turned towards me, paying full attention on what next I was going to say. "You seemed lonely. I sometimes feel lonely and let's be honest, breakfast is the most important meal of the day. But if you don't want me to come anymore I will respect that." I said honestly and let him think over my words.

As I was putting my jacket on he stepped in the hallway, arms crossed, leaning on the wall. His face was graced with a small smile.

"I don't mind, Adelle."

And that was his manly Alaric Saltzman way of saying that if I wanted I could visit him every morning.

SCORE!

"Good." I played it cool trying not to betray how giddy his admission made me.

For fuck Sake! He was one of my favorite characters in the show! I would hit the lottery if I was able to become his friend!

Deciding that I was steps away from jumping in happiness, screaming 'woohoo' and clapping my hands like a loon, I told him goodbye and got the hell away from there.

And to be completely honest, I admit to having a little happy dance party in the car before driving off for another boring day in school.

Did I care?

Not in the least.


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer

I do not own Vampire Diaries. The O.C. is my only original character.

This story will follow the series to some extend, there will be a lot of changes and you will find a partial O.O.C. here.

It will be rated **[M]** for future chapters and yes it will be a **Menage love story/P** **olygamous relationship** , if you don't like please don't read.

I welcome constructive criticism and if you would like to help me with that, please write me a P.M.

Big thanks to my Beta - Kaderin ( _vkdrie . selene_ ) for correcting this chapter! ^w^

 **[!]** Comments. Follows. Any kind of support is highly appreciated. No kidding, it does give the motivation to update faster!

* * *

Chapter 7

Jeremy wanted to talk. After school I was going straight to the boarding house. But the kid ambushed me before I even got the chance to reach my car. The determination in his eyes made it evident that he was not taking 'no' for an answer. So with the thought of just ditching him, pushed to the back of my mind I let him in the vehicle. He had no distinct preference of where we should go so I opted for the 'driving around town' thing.

We were silent for a moment, the only thing that could be heard was the humming of the engine.

In one word. Awkward.

But it was expected as he was a confused teen that was in the beginning of forming real cells in his brain and I was a girl that faked being his big sister. So one could say that the silence was one of the better options.

"How is Lucy?" I asked when I was on the verge of pulling my hair out as the boy couldn't stop sending strange glances in my direction and then pretended to be staring somewhere else.

I've had it.

"Oh..good. We.. we are going to meet tonight." he said after a pause and if the situation was different I would have made him embarrassed.

"Ah...good, good." I nodded. Come on! "If you don't start spilling, Jeremy, I'm gonna woosh-woosh you off that seat. And I'm not planning on stopping the car."

The only real Gilbert between the three 'siblings' let out a long sigh. I held back an eye roll and had no idea when I started caring if he would get offended by my display of annoyance.

Huh..

"Why didn't you tell me what was going on, Adelle?" he finally asked and I avoided looking at his direction. This time his whole attention was on me.

"I told you..."

"Yeah, yeah, you wanted to protect us." Jeremy interrupted me but the look of 'now tell me the whole truth' said it all and I should stop being amazed by how much the whole family has changed from the version I knew in the series. Jeremy on TV was very oblivious...before a real vampire 'slapped' itself in his face. He was a brat...bigger than now at least. But the boy sitting next to me was more observant now, he saw things and sensed them like he was older and I wasn't sure where these changes had come from. Was it his girlfriend Lucy? Yes, the girl was smart and was keeping him in line, but was it just that?

Who knew?

"Just tell me, Ad, is it me? I … I know that we aren't so close and we don't talk that much but, do you trust me so little that you couldn't share this with me?" Jeremy then continued and I internally winced. Okay, so I see his point, if I was in his place, and my sister was in mine, I would be pretty hurt too. I would wonder if I wasn't good enough, if she couldn't lean on me, I would start doubting my own relationship with her.

And that was pretty shitty thing to experience.

"Look, Jeremy, don't take it that way. Yeah we aren't braiding our hair together and we don't do sleepovers, but we are...siblings, we are family. If I had to choose you or Elena to keep a secret for me, I would choose you without blinking, trust me on that." he smiled a little, probably agreeing that Elena couldn't keep anything a secret, she just liked to share her feelings too damn much. "I didn't tell you because you are in a good place, you stopped using and have Lucy to nag you when you're acting like a little shit."

"Hey!.."

"You were finally moving from the accident and I didn't want to pull you into something that could compromise that." I told him and the more I spoke the more I realized that I was sincere.

Well, damn! I really did care about the kid.

"I...I understand that, but...ugh..I mean...I don't need us to be best friends, Adelle, all I ask for is that we not be strangers and lately..since the Salvatores, we barely speak more than few sentences." Jeremy said after he thought over my words. Fuck… have I turned into Elena? No… Ugh!

"I won't look for excuses, Jeremy you are right." I decided to just give in and admit it. The kid was asking for his older sister and I should start acting like one, or at least try. "How about this? I will pull my act together and be...more open. And when you...ugh..feel like talking about, you know, girls...stuff and what not, just tell me." I smiled at him and he returned it almost immediately.

"Elena will be jealous." he quipped and I laughed.

"Yeah well, she has to deal with it, I'm the cooler sister." I winked and he scoffed amused by me.

"Nah..you're just good at not judging and just saying what you think. If I want to talk about my emotions you are the last person I would go to, honestly. Nothing personal, Adelle, but you suck."

"Hey! That's not true..." well, okay, so he did have a point. His look told me the same thing. "Whatever!"

Then I saw a weapon shop we were nearing on the street. I spared a glance at the boy who was looking at the side window with a small smile on his lips and I decided, why not?!

"Why did you stop?" asked Jeremy when I parked the car, just next to the building I had in mind.

"Well, I would like your opinion on something." I shrugged cryptically and hid a smirk as he followed me confused of to where we were going.

"Welcome to 'Mike's Shooting range'." the man behind the glass stand full with various guns greeted us. The place wasn't so big, but had a big collection of firing weapons.

I walked casually and looked around, getting into the whole vibe. I like it! Jeremy was doing the same but was still confused as to what we were doing there. Thankfully, opposite of his sister, he stayed silent and waited for me to explain.

I went in front of the seller.

"Hello, Mike, would you show me what kinds of tasers you have?" I asked nicely and smirked in satisfaction by the dumbfounded expression Jeremy had when he heard me. He was now next to me and was biting his lip. I knew the boy was burning with unanswered questions.

If I could get away with it I would have cackled like a maniac.

But then what was so strange about my request? I never had a taser, never felt the need to get one, and here surrounded by dead blood suckers it wasn't going to be effective at all. But, hey, if Bonnie had her cool aneurism thingy, I would have my taser! Can you imagine using it on Damon? Oh! One of the Originals? Better yet – Katherine! I would give my trust fund to see their reaction! I bet it never happened to any of them.

Haha!

But no! I wouldn't use it for my amusement...nuh huh! It would be for my protection.

That will be the official story.

"Here you go! You can see that we have three options in stock..." came back the man starting to explain each one of them. I wasn't really paying attention, to be honest. All I heard was they all could knock out someone pretty easily and wasn't that the whole point of my purchase?

"So? Jer, which one should I get?" I turned to my fake brother and he stared at me dumbly.

"I ..ugh..Adelle." rolling my eyes, I motioned towards the devices.

"Come on, just pick one!"

"Why would you want one, I mean..yeah I get it…" he spared a cautious glance in the clerk's direction. "But a taser? With your coordination you might hurt yourself or...knock someone out by mistake...you sure about this?" he asked and I was certain he was asking himself why I was always asking him such bizarre questions.

First how to break into a house. Now which device I should use against people.

What a good and proper sister I must be! Such an example for this young man! Good!

Do you know what his face was? Don't care! I will tell you none the less!

It was something of the sort - 'Danger, danger! She's lost her shit!'

Yep.

Close enough.

"I could always tell you that it is for protection...so..." I grinned cheekily and he groaned lowly, shaking his head and deciding to stop questioning my suspicious actions. Adelle will do whatever Adelle wanted. Pretty simple right? He will get it, sooner or later.

"Just...this one." he pointed at the second one and the seller nodded, going to the cash register. "Small, effective for whatever evil deed you will use it for." he said and I sent him an amused look. Good boy! He understands me so well!

"Thanks, bro!" I grinned broadly and then payed for it.

"Now I have to decide a name for the new resident in my bag!" I said when we were back in the car. Jeremy sent me another look but none the less chuckled.

"I propose to name it after your first victim." he quipped and I laughed.

"Jero it is!" I grinned and he glared playfully, knowing what I was hinting at.

Who knew! We were having a good time together.

* * *

I'm almost afraid to admit it aloud, but things have changed.

Since the talk Damon and I had in the tomb, I've been anxious. It was almost too good to be true and even though I wanted it to happen for as long as I can remember, I can't deny that I was waiting for the other shoe to drop.

There have been other times when I believed Damon would forgive me, that we could get passed this, that I could have my brother back. But each time I found myself betrayed, played by him, leaving me on the brink of breaking.

Throughout the years I have lost a lot of people, some closer than others. With time you learn that the more you gain the more you could loose and I had found that out the hard way. The only constant in my life has been Lexi, who was there for me in my darkest moments. She was my best friend, but no matter how bad it would sound… I would still live, I would still survive even if she wasn't there.

Yes, thanks to her I had my sanity, I had my humanity back. She was the one to pull me back every time Damon would push me down, would make my life miserable, would keep true to the promise he made me about eternal misery.

But still, even with this knowledge it pained me to admit it, it made me ashamed, but I would keep on living, even without her. It would hurt, I had no doubt about it, but it would not be enough to make me take my ring off and just burn.

The only thing I knew that would make me do it, that will push me over the edge for good, was my own blood. It was Damon and I knew that very well. No matter how much we hurt each other, how we betrayed one another, how he came in every time and ruined any happiness I had a chance of having, he was the only one that could end me.

It was stupid, for someone to have such power over you. Even if I believed that I had lost him long time ago, he would always be my brother, my only family. And no matter what he did, no matter how much he pushed, how much he destroyed me, Damon was the one who could either save me or kill me for good.

And for the longest time I had accepted that he would do it, kill me that is, he was just stalling, waiting till he had broken me to such an extent, that I would welcome my end with open arms. But a small part of me held on to the promise he made, of misery yes, but of an eternity too. And no matter what, I had always known that I would choose that over the possibility of a tranquil death.

Because in death, I would not be with my brother.

So I endured all the things he had in store for me, I did it, because I was selfish and took his choice away, I decided instead of him and I would do it again and again and again, no matter the pain and sorrow that would follow, because it was nothing compared to not having him here.

In the years I learned to stop being so naive, that no matter how much I wanted it, craved it, Damon would find a way to hurt me. I knew it, but it didn't really matter because I would let him in every time. Hoping.

And I payed the price.

Now? I am letting him in once again. But this time it was different. Yes I was expecting the worst, I was prepared for it, but I felt it in my guts, that this time would have a different outcome. Why?

Because I let him in as well.

I have lied to myself before, I always thought that I would give anything to have my brother back, that I did try to mend our bond, but I was blind. And greedy. I wanted Damon back, to have the same relationship we had before Katherine, but that was not possible, because he wasn't the same man and I was expecting him to be the human brother I had. But he wasn't human, he was a vampire. So was I. I wasn't the same either, and no matter how much I tried I wasn't human Stefan..

It was painful to admit it to myself, it was painful to let go of a past life, to let go of an old time.

But I had to, for Damon, for myself, because blood wasn't enough to keep us together.

So I was ready, to finally get to know my brother. To accept him.

Because it was selfish of me to want this from him and not do the same in return.

I have killed. He killed too.

I have betrayed. He betrayed too.

I have lied. He lied too.

I was a vampire. So was he.

I was his brother. And he was mine.

We weren't so different, after all. And he knew it as well. That's why I felt that this time, things would be different.

One more piece of evidence was that in the past I believed that Damon felt nothing, that he was void of any human emotion there was, but for the last few days I was proven wrong. No matter how much he liked to deny it, Damon was feeling again. The switch was back on and all the proof I needed were in his eyes, they never could lie. After finding out the truth about Katherine I saw my brother breaking, maybe it was the sorrow, the pain, but it was enough to make him turn his humanity back on.

And that made things worse.

I didn't know for how long he stayed emotionless, how many years it had been, but I had been in his place more than once and I knew that when it was turned back on, all of it came crashing down. All that was pushed away came back to haunt you. So I knew what he was going through and being aware of it, I couldn't leave his side.

No matter how much Damon played like it was nothing, that he was okay with everything, I wasn't fooled.

So I stayed close, for what exactly, I didn't know. What I did know was that Damon was too prideful to ask for help, to admit a weakness, so I kept my distance. I was around, but never too close, I didn't push it, because if there was one thing certain about my brother, it was that he didn't liked to be caged, to be overwhelmed.

There were a lot of women, most of them disturbingly looking like Elena and her ancestor. He hadn't killed any of them, though and I wasn't sure why. Maybe it was the alcohol, that made it almost hard for him to walk or talk, maybe it was the resemblance or maybe it was the switch that stopped him from emotionally killing someone.

Damon doesn't talk a lot. I don't ask either. But I wasn't judging either. Just waiting, because no matter what everyone said, there will come a time, a moment when it will be too much, too much to pretend that it was okay, that it was fine, that he was in control. There will come a moment when Damon will break and I would be there. In one way or another.

That's why I stayed at home. Silently observing and ignoring all of the orgies going in the next room. People grieved differently and I wasn't expecting my older brother to start writing like I did.

On Monday the loud music came to a stop. Till now there wasn't a second when it has been quiet around the house so that caught my attention. Getting out of my bedroom I saw a few dazed girls exiting. I found Damon in the living room, next to the fireplace that for once wasn't working. No drink in hand either.

"Hello, brother, sleep well?" he asked without turning towards me, eyes glued on the unlit fireplace. I was expecting to find him in his usual attire or lack of thereof, but no, he was put together, black clothes, styled hair, sober.

"Yes." I said and held back any question I wanted to ask. Taking a seat on one of the couches I pretended to look engrossed in the book I had picked from my room, so he wouldn't see that I was just checking on him.

"You aren't going to school?" he then questioned finally turning in my direction. For the first time in the past few days his eyes were focused.

"Don't feel like going." I answered and we both knew that was a lie. I wanted to, with every fiber of my being, just so I could see her.

"You do know that I don't need a babysitter, Stefan, I won't kill anyone!" he wiggled his eyebrows in the infuriating way like he had no concerns in the world.

"I know." I nodded, watching him come to me and sit on the opposite couch. "And I'm not staying so I can make sure you don't hurt anyone either, Damon."

"No?" he shifted a little, regarding me with suspicion. "Then why are you here, Stefan?"

"Well, I do have this interesting book right here." I waved the book in my hand and ignored the rolling of his eyes, clearly he didn't believe me.

"If you are waiting for me to break down or start cr..." I interrupted him, seeing as how it annoyed him.

"I don't expect a thing from you Damon, we both know I can't make you do anything." I said lightly, trying to show him that I wasn't going to push.

Damon looked at me carefully, no doubt searching for a lie or a catch but there was none. I opened the book to a random page and started to read. It was quiet after that, neither of us spoke. I thought he would leave or go search for another willing body, but my brother just sat there looking at the unlit fireplace, lost in his own world.

And even if that was nothing special for many, just us two being in one room without breaking into a fight, sitting calmly in each other's presence was something I never thought would be possible.

An hour or so later, his phone started to ring, he read the message and that made him get up. Looking up maybe the question in my head was visible on my face, because he answered it before I could actually pose it.

"Well, it looks like there will be a 24h party in Whitmore. Free booze and everything, don't wait up, brother." he winked and before he could disappear I made a decision.

"Wait!" standing up as well I continued. "I'll come too."

"Hah! Right..." Damon rolled his eye in amusement clearly thinking I was joking.

"I'm serious, I want to come." that caught his attention and suspicion showed all over his face.

"Why? So you can look after your big sad brother? Didn't I tell you..." he was glaring by now and I had to stop him before he got unreasonably angry with me.

"And I told you that I am not your babysitter, Damon. I want to come because I want to come. Surely you do remember that I am not as boring as you think I am." I reminded him of the times when I did...let loose. Most of them were with Lexi around or when the Ripper was the one driving, but none of those were the scenarios today, it was just me and Damon. A week in which both of us were actually acting like brothers and have made up, before all hell broke loose. We had fun, each in our own way, but we still did it.

So Damon knew I was capable of doing it. When I really felt like it. And now was one of those times. Because why not? For once Damon and I were tolerating each other, he had no secret agenda...anymore...and while he needed to drown his misery I needed to shut all the thoughts of just going and taking what I wanted. Of just acting on my most primal instincts and desires to have the girl that was oblivious to what effect she had on me.

So if alcohol and music could help, I was not passing it up.

Being around my brother and doing it with him was just an unexpected bonus.

"Does this have anything to do with an annoyingly perceptive human girl that has been around us a lot as of late?" Damon narrowed his eyes and I shrugged.

"I am not asking about your reasons brother, don't ask for mine either." He smirked. "So?"

He chuckled and it wasn't menacing or to make fun of me.

"Fine. But no brooding and no whining." he pointed at me and I lifted my hands in defense. If he wanted it that way, I would give him that.

"Let's go then."

Three hours later and I could admit to having too much to drink. We were in some sorority house and even if it was the middle of the day the party was in full force. Everywhere around me there were people, drinking, dancing and making out. With the passing of years, those things have changed in some way or the other. I wasn't going to lie and I could easily admit to have tried everything that the world had to offer. Through the years one thing stayed the same though, and that was the effect that alcohol had on people.

It made them go wild, let loose and be whatever they truly wanted to be.

The music was loud and while at first I admit to having a harder time of letting go, compared to Damon, now I was actually having fun. While Damon was somewhere near, surrounded by a few girls, I was actually… the same.

Yes, neither of them was as beautiful as Adelle, was as witty and unknowingly addictive as she was, but that was the point. They were all pretty, but I didn't feel the same attraction, the pull when I saw her, to just touch her. Their eyes were not her unique shade of blue, their lips were not so deliciously plump like hers and most definitely they did not smell like wild spring. But it was okay, because either way they were helping me forget for a moment and … let it all out.

No I wasn't going to drink from them, I couldn't risk it, but amidst the alcohol and the booming music, I let myself relax. I was having a good time.

The last time I experienced this was with Lexi.

Now it was with Damon.

Speaking of him, I saw him looking in my direction, some girl was talking to him and it was evident that he wasn't interested. It was amusing and even he appeared relaxed.

One thing that caught my attention was that he was surprised that I was keeping up with him. I was aware of his opinion of me being uptight and a childish part wanted to shout in his direction – 'I told you so!', but another more basic one, felt giddy that my big brother would approve of something I had done. Even if that was getting a little drunk and having some girls grinding on me.

No matter how many decades passed, I would secretly seek my big brother's approval.

I just hoped that Damon would never catch wind about it.

I would never live that down.

After the phone call with Adelle, I was left dizzy. Damon stood next to me in shocked stupor and he just like me couldn't believe what came out of the girl who had somehow made a permanent place for herself in both our lives.

I should be angry that the person I had fallen in love with didn't care if I slept with someone, but I knew that was not what she meant. With her words still resonating in my head I turned towards Damon who was lost in his thoughts too. When he looked at me, we were both sharing the same sentiment.

Amazement.

We both saw it. Adelle was something different, something unique. She understood me, she understood Damon too. She saw us for what we were, nothing more and nothing less. And she still accepted it all.

'Let loose.'

'Grieve in the way you know how.'

'Be there for each other.'

Even after living for a little less than two centuries I still had trouble describing what this girl brought out in me.

Hearing a sigh I looked at Damon who now had two shots in his hands, wordlessly he gave me one and after a silent toast we both drank them in one go.

"Well..." he started.

"Yeah..." I continued.

This was the effect one strange human girl had on me. Had on Damon.

"I heard that they hid a stash of some actually good alcohol on the second floor, want to check it out?" I looked at my brother, he was asking to spend time together in a place where he could easily ignore me and find dozens of volunteers to be his meal.

"Lead the way."

That's how we found ourselves in some room, that looked like an office, sitting across each other on the floor, sharing a second bottle of scotch. Who would have thought that a decent drink like this could be found in a sorority house?

We were the only ones here, as all the action was happening downstairs. The music wasn't so loud up here.

"Remember when father got you your first horse?" Damon broke the silence between us and I nodded.

"Yeah, he chose on purpose the black one, I still remember how wild he was."

"He wanted for you to learn riding on him, the bastard knew you couldn't do it." continued my brother, who was looking out the window, eyebrows scrunched in anger.

"I was going to fail and he would have been disappointed in me, I was scared of him getting mad, so I asked you to help me, even though I knew he would punish you for interfering." it all played out before my eyes like it was yesterday. "You helped me none the less and I did it, I learned to ride it, but then he found out and punished you."

"He beat me good, no denying it." Damon said. "After that I couldn't stand on my feet for two days straight, he didn't let anyone come inside my room or help me with the injuries." I winced remembering, in what bad condition my brother was because of me. "And even though you were young, terrified of our father you still snuck in whenever no one noticed and kept me company."

For the first time in a while instead of his signature smirk which I was used to, Damon was actually smiling, sincerely smiling even if just a little because of the memory.

"You said that you were my brother and you couldn't leave me to endure it all alone."

"It was my fault that you were in that condition Damon." I told him.

"If I had the chance, I would do it again." Damon then turned towards me and I saw the sincerity with which he spoke."You were….you are my little brother, Stefan." he said it like it explained everything, that it gave justice to all of it.

I waited, knowing he wanted to say more.

"I am sorry for not being the big brother I should be, that I chose someone over you, Stefan."

I stopped breathing. I stopped moving, the shock of those words paralyzing my whole body, making my head spin.

I thought I was imagining him saying that, but then when I could concentrate, my eyes saw all the emotions swirling in his blue ones and the truth of his statement made all of the past mistakes, all of the pain he caused vanish.

Just vanish like they were never there. That they did not matter, because Damon was my brother, my big brother and I would give everything to have him back.

I nodded mutely, succeeding in making him chuckle.

"Don't look so shocked Stefan…." I interrupted him. Taking a deep breath I knew he wasn't the only one at fault.

"I am sorry for betraying you, for choosing someone else's attention over you, for causing you pain, Damon." swallowing almost nervously I knew that he could react badly with the mention of the woman who played him, who played them. "I'm sorry for what Katherine did to you. Did to us."

He looked away, but I still saw the brief flash of pain, anger and betrayal.

"It sucks, no denying that." he said then, looking anywhere else but at me, swirling the bottle in his hand, taking a big gulp of the drink. "But the more I think about it the more sadistically thankful I am for what she did." that surprised me. "Now I am able to see it clearly, Stefan. Even if it...even if it fucking hurts, now I know that what I had felt for Katherine wasn't love."

"What…?" I couldn't believe it.

"When she came into the picture I saw in her something different, she was a breath of fresh air from all the other women that cared only about family status and dresses. She was dangerous, provocative and sexy, it pushed me all towards her. But if before I thought I loved that about her, now I know that I was in love with the image of her. Of the freedom she represented from the world that father caged us in. She showed me that there was more than his rules, his way of living and thinking. I fell in love with the freedom, Stefan, not her. I dedicated my life to her, but now I see it. I see that I don't need her, that I never truly loved her, because how could one love somebody who they didn't know at all?"

He was again looking at me. And I was once again left without words.

"I...I don't know what to say, Damon." he chuckled shaking his head in amusement.

"You could start with suggesting what I could do with the rest of my life." he waved a hand dismissively, and even if my brother played it off like he didn't care, I saw that he was lost.

Damon had dedicated years of his unlife to getting Katherine out of the tomb. He succeeded, she wasn't there, and his plan had ended there.

"Well, you could start with not disappearing." I proposed acting nonchalantly, but on the inside I was afraid that he would leave. I didn't want that.

"Nowhere to go, Stefan." again he shrugged, comically exaggerating his eyes to become bigger and making a sarcastic shocked expression.

"So you will stay? Here?" he nodded and I took the bottle from him swallowing the burning liquid trying to sooth my throat.

"If I feel like it, I can teach you how to drink human blood too." he quipped a minute later, after some surprisingly comfortable silence.

I choked.

"What? No! You know how I become when I drink human blood Damon! I'm unstable." I shook my head denying any possibility of this happening.

"Oh, come on, you never tried it my way, Stefan!" he stated, rolling his eyes.

"No! You don't know what will happen, Damon, I...I..."

"I do actually, I did follow you through the years, Stefan." He checked on me? "Lexi might have found a solution for you to not go bat shit crazy, but animal blood is not a permanent solution." he added.

Taking a deep breath, I was about to continue protesting, but he waved me off.

"Think about it, I have time...and look how awesome of a vampire I am!" then he leaned towards me a little more. "You are weak like that, Stefan, you can't protect the one you want, if you desire full control, I can teach you how to do it." he shrugged, stopping me from answering. "Like I said think about it. Now! I don't know about you, but I've had enough with all these feelings. You heard the perky human, let's let loose!"

With his proposal pushed to the back of my mind, I let out a smile and followed him.

Why not?

* * *

To be completely honest there were two reasons for making Jeremy tag along and help me get a taser.

The obvious one was to...spend some time with him, or he with me, because even if he was not my real brother and I lied to him constantly, I still felt bad. It wasn't his fault that he was stuck with a deceiving girl that was getting just a tad bit too good at the whole acting thing. And he was just a kid, a troubled, lonely, teenager, that had lost his parents. God knows that no matter how annoying I saw him to be in the series...especially when he cheated on Bonnie, he still didn't deserve to have an awful sister like me.

And let's totally ignore the moments when I just want to hit him behind the head for being such a disgrace to all of the faithful boyfriends around the world. But once again I had to remind myself that those things hadn't happened here.

If they did, well, I now had a taser with three power options to help teach him a lesson.

The second reason I made him go in that shop was because I wanted him to see me as...as..well a crazy person, more or less. I had this idea of making him back of a bit. Surely in a while he would want me to stay away from Lucy. Afraid I would scare her away.

And hey, I had fun playing the whack job in the family, who knows, maybe all of them will leave me be.

Oh...okay. So I lied, there was a third reason for my actions as well. You see, the owner of the shop, the one who sold me the taser was an acquaintance of mine. He had a poodle for a dog and I had met him a few times while walking Beluga. Yes, the beefy guy with a lot, and I mean a lot of tattoos, had a white poodle.

Each to their own I say. And to be fair he loved his dog.

So the whole idea was in reality to push the kid towards Mike, the owner, the guy was cool and I had told him about my troubled little brother, who had a hard time finding something to do. In the shop they talked a bit, and I knew that Mike liked Jeremy, because from what he shared with me once in the park, was that he always wanted to have a younger brother.

So as I have now laid out the base of my plan, all I needed was to make sure that both of them would 'accidentally' meet, while walking their pets. One thing would lead to another, and if I was correct, soon, the future one of the five hunters, would be obsessed with weapons and all that stuff.

Why?

Well, the brat had too much free time, and if he wasn't with Lucy or at school, he would stay locked in the house, and let's be real, I would have him off my back. And! In a world where vampires were everywhere he needed this more then anything. The training he got from Alaric in the series, came too late, in my opinion.

And if I failed in making them friends, it wasn't going to be such a loss.

Oh...and I might have found a hiding place for the white oak, the compass and the moon stone. Which were safely put away in a place I would have no access to if not for Mike.

So yep...now you know.

I don't sleep more than three or four hours a day, I had a lot of time to plan and prepare.

So sue me.

Taking a deep breath I got out of the car, dropping Jeremy off and ignoring the texts from Elena that she was going to talk with Alaric, I went straight to the massive front door of the boarding house.

Before I could even knock Stefan opened it and I couldn't withhold the big smile that graced my face. He looked as dashing as ever and it felt like I hadn't seen him for a lot longer than three days. He was smiling warmly at me and I didn't even get the chance to say hello, before he had me in his arms, engulfing me in a hug. A secure, protective embrace that made my heart skip a beat and my smile turn into a grin. The vampire hid his face in the crook of my neck and I didn't miss the way he took in a long breath, his hands around my midsection a tad bit tighter.

"Hey." I was finally able to say and felt the smile on his lips, as they carefully touched my skin. It took him longer to answer but then he did.

"Hey." It was simple, it was brief, but I still couldn't ignore how nice it felt to be held by him.

When I decided that this was taking too much time, and my brain was getting too wrapped up in this cocoon of security Stefan gave me, I pushed myself back.

Before I did that, though, my skin got hot, I felt myself blush, because for some reason, it looked like Stefan, didn't want to let me go. Maybe I was imagining it, or maybe not, but he might have, grumbled lowly. Yes, I know. About to say something sarcastic he interrupted me once more with kissing my neck, quickly, once...twice and then he finally pulled back as well.

Yeah...leaving me hyperventilating from the inside, holding my hands still, stopping them from going over the place where the vampire had kissed me.

And the bastard didn't even look sorry or bashful about it, no, Stefan Salvatore looked pleased, like he was proud of himself for making me blush and a step away from giving me a heart attack.

Okay, so him spending so much time with Damon, might not have been the best idea. But then I couldn't say anything, because if I remembered correctly, the satisfied expression he was wearing and the relaxed posture he had reminded me a lot of the Ripper. I would have been scared if it wasn't for the warmth shown in his beautiful green eyes.

So yes, Stefan was happy, or at least he looked it. The only reason that came to mind was that he was on Damon's good side and that whatever they did yesterday patched things up.

"Someone is in a good mood." I said stepping past him to the inside of the house. The vampire navigated me towards the kitchen, though we both know it wasn't necessary.

"Yes, well, I have a reason to be." he answered, while leaning on the wall, hands in his pockets, head inclined on one side a bit- a swoon worthy moment, I tell you.

"Yeah? And what would that be?" I asked as I started to pull out the appliances that I would need. The younger brother just stood there and observed me.

"Damon and I are in a good place." he shared and I saw him sparing a look, somewhere behind him, which told me that the other vampire was indeed in the house.

"And all it took was booze, party and a sorority." I winked, sarcastically shaking my head. That got me a chuckle in return as Stefan stepped towards me.

"That and some much needed talking. Oh and a girl that would just not leave us be before we got it sorted out." he was behind me, placing his hands on either side of me, as I washed the rice I would be using.

When did Stefan Salvatore became so...affectionate?

"Huh, she sounds like a pain in the ass." I said, looking for a moment over my shoulder, realizing how close the man was and wondered why he hadn't touched me before.

"That and a lot more." he answered and I felt his breath hit the back of my neck and God, if my hands weren't otherwise occupied I would no doubt be trembling.

Okay...so happy Stefan is a touchy-feely Stefan.

Good to know..

"Well well well, don't stop on my account!" I jumped in surprise and turned to see Damon leaning on the door, looking amused. I don't know what he was thinking but I just knew he would start sprouting horny crap if I didn't pull away.

So I did, by taking the ingredients I needed to make risotto and putting them on the island in the middle of the kitchen. Stefan was almost copying his brother's posture of nonchalance as he was leaning on the sink. Both observing me, like I was doing some kind of sorcery.

"Ah! Damon, here I thought you would miss the dinner I'm preparing!" I grinned in his direction ignoring the quirk of his brow in question.

"Stefan must have forgotten to tell me, I would not dare to be absent." Damon answered smirking at us both and stepping closer. "So what are you making?" he asked and I wasn't sure if he really was interested or was making fun of me.

"A green salad with avocado and cherry tomatoes, risotto with mushrooms and for desert – bloody ice cream!" I said silently cackling at the surprised looks on both the brothers faces.

"Bloody ice cream?" repeated Stefan and I nodded, taking the avocado from Damon, who had seated himself on one of the stools across from me.

"Yes, well, it will be a normal ice cream, but I will make a syrup with blood, I hope you don't mind me using one of your bags from downstairs. I didn't have time to visit the hospital and steal some of my own." I said so seriously, that if someone didn't know my sense of humor would decide I wasn't shitting him.

Damon in response snorted loudly, while rolling his eyes, and Stefan shook his head and laughed openly.

See! Those two know me so well!

"Don't fret, sweet Adelle, leave it to me, I will fetch it for you, next time!" winked the raven haired man as I laughed.

"Thank you, kind sir! I have some cool ideas of how to add that special ingredient so you can both appreciate it." I nodded, faking being thoughtful.

"Addie, you do know I can't drink human blood, right?" Stefan asked as he came to stand next to me, who then gave me the lettuce and a knife so I could start making the first meal.

"Yes, I do know that, dear vampire, but if you ask me I think you should cut the crap and try building your control."

"See! Miss human here, says the same thing I do!" Damon waved dramatically, grinning like the Cheshire cat.

"You said that?" I asked him and after he nodded I continued. "Good! Maybe I don't understand everything as much as I think I do, but if Damon is willing to help you…." said man rolled his eyes but waved at me to keep on talking as he and Stefan considered my words. "I think that there is a way to make you get back on human blood and not go all Ripper-ish on the town's folks." I smiled broadly, proud of myself for getting the chance to voice my thoughts.

"Adelle..." started Stefan.

"Let's hear what she has to say, brother, who knows, she might not have such a bad idea." Damon surprisingly cut him off as he and his brother had a mini stare down, for what exactly I had no idea, but when the ex ripper sighed in defeat I took it as a 'go'.

"Okay, so if I understand correctly from what you have told me and what I knew already, vampires need blood to survive, the less they feed the weaker they become. And with time you learn control and can stop if you don't want to kill." I looked at the two who nodded. "Stefan here has problem with stopping and so when he feeds from humans, he accidentally kills them and BAMM here comes the blame, yes?" the younger one looked away.

I will take that as yes. "So when the guilt comes, it's too much for him, as vampires have heightened senses, it becomes too much to feel….so Stefan switches the emotions off."

"Look at that, you've learned your lesson!" sarcastically quipped Damon as his eyes would dart from me to his brother while I talked.

"I did." I answered not one bit ashamed. Putting the finished dressing down I pushed the done salad aside and started to cut the mushrooms. "So if I am correct, then in order for Stefan to be in control, he needs to learn to pull away and even if he doesn't succeed then to not feel so bad about it."

"Not feel bad about it?" Stefan looked at me sharply and Damon leant on the island, one hand supporting his head, eyes mischievous like he was watching first hand a soap opera. "I kill people, I have killed so many innocent people, Adelle, how could I not feel...bad about them?"

Taking a deep breath, I let go of the knife and looked at the blond carefully.

"So? You have killed. Damon had done it too, but do you see him wallowing in misery? No! Yes there is nothing wrong about feeling guilty, but those things can't define you Stefan, they can't control you, the more you push and deny your true nature, the more you lose control. You need blood to survive, but you need human blood to learn to be in control. What you have now is false, because with the first slip up, all of this will go out of the window, Stefan." I was speaking seriously, so much so that even Damon lost the look of amusement. Stefan shook his head.

"You don't understand, I can't control it!"

"BULLSHIT!" I almost screamed. The younger brother flinched but didn't look away. "You think you don't have control, but from where I stand you have it a lot more than Damon. In order to be able to drink animal blood for over ten years and still not lash out at any passing human and barely being stronger than them is one hell of definition of a fucking control, Stefan!" I was panting, after voicing so much, I just prayed that he would see my point.

"Then….then why have I never succeeded in doing it before?" he asked and just as I was about to answer Damon stepped in.

"That would be my fault actually." we both turned towards the older vampire. He was serious. "I wasn't very supportive if you can remember, brother. It would be a living hell to achieve control for anyone if they had someone like me lurking around trying to fuck it all up, whenever it looked like you were actually happy." his velvet voice was low, almost cold, but his eyes were sincere and he actually looked regretful.

What the hell have I missed these last few days?

"Damon…." started Stefan but his brother interrupted him once again.

"Let's not skip the fact that to add up to your own guilt, you felt bad for every person I fucked over. But it was never your fault, Stefan, I am the one who is bearing the consequences of my decisions, just like you have to do the same thing. And as it looks like, we are going be staying here for some time." his blue orbs looked at me briefly. "And as I am no longer on a mission to make you miserable, you have the chance to learn control." then he winked. "And hey, with the most amazing teacher there is, me, you will be dandy in no time."

Damon was now smirking.

Stefan looked shocked from all of the admissions he heard from his brother.

I was hopeful.

Oh...it's time to butt in!

"And! I will help as well, don't know with what exactly, but if anything, I was serious with the whole cooking-with-blood-kind-of-thing." I grinned. "After thermal processing the blood isn't so...uhm...yummy, is it?" the raven haired man rolled his eyes, amusement back on his face.

"No, Adelle, it's not so yummy anymore." he answered sarcastically and I childishly stuck out my tongue.

Well, sorry, for not being up to date with this tiny detail, mister, when you look in Google there is nothing helpful about cooking with real blood.

Tch.

Seeing the two will continue to stare at each other for some time, I continued with my work. The rice was already in the pan, I had added water and the herbs I wanted and was now adding another pan next to the first one to heat it up.

"Damon, be a darling and fetch me that blood bag you talked about." I winked and he just made a face before wordlessly doing what I asked from him. Who knew, Damon Salvatore actually listened to something I said. "Stefan, where is the sugar?" I asked as he awakened from his stupor so he could help me.

When the second brother came back, he was holding the bag in one hand, while in the other there was a glass of bourbon. Giving the blood to me he came to stand on my other side as the both of them watched how I made the syrup. It was kind of funny, and surreal, but at the same time I felt giddy.

"Ever tried it?"

"I am more of a fan of the quick get it over with process thing." said Damon while Stefan shook his head.

"Mind, sharing the bourbon?" I then questioned and he grinned wickedly.

"Oh, look at that! The proper Miss Adelle wants some of the good stuff!" I huffed in annoyance and took the glass from his hand, which he surprisingly let me do and added the alcohol in the mixture on the fire. "Hey! This is one hell of a pricy bourbon!"

Stefan chuckled.

Hey, the brooding seems to have lasted a lot less then what I thought it would.

For the next hour or something those two hovered around me while I was preparing the dinner. Stefan was a lot more helpful but Damon did have his moments when he would taste something and add something else to make it even better than it was. It must have been a strange sight, how domestic we were acting.

Two vampires.

One of which was a Ripper.

The other – the Devil himself.

And lastly, a human girl from another dimension.

Yep, these things happened all the time!

While they were putting plates on the table, or should I say, Stefan was putting things on the table as Damon only drank his bourbon and annoyingly ordered his brother around, I texted Alaric.

"It actually smells nice." Damon spoke, as I placed the food on plates and in front of him and Stefan. Ignoring the thought of the glass in his hand being the fourth one in an hour, I smirked at him and took a seat as well.

"It's delicious, Adelle." Stefan then said and I couldn't hold the giddy grin back. I loved when people loved my cooking,

"Thank you! But you two helped a lot, so it was inevitable." Damon chuckled but none the less kept on eating.

I have no idea how that turned into talking about Stefan's numerous times going to college and Damon's culinary diploma, but before I knew it we were having a good laugh and a nice time. Yes, Damon still looked tired, drinking too much even for himself, internally fighting the betrayal he felt and yes, Stefan was a bit tense, no doubt our conversation was plaguing his mind. But if I wasn't mistaken they were almost grateful for having this distraction.

And…

I . was . Having . Dinner . With . The . Salvatore . Brothers .

My life was complete!

Then there was a knock on the door.

"Was Elena coming?" asked Stefan.

"And she brought company." Damon.

Before I could react properly, the younger brother had opened the door and Elena had barged in like a freaking thunderstorm. The next few things happened like I wasn't even there. As the doppelganger was shouting profanities at Damon for killing her biological mother, the vampire himself looked pretty confused, Stefan was trying to make her calm down and all of them missed the history teacher jumping out of fucking nowhere shooting wooden bullets at Damon.

Then Elena was screaming her lungs out and Stefan pushed her away, just as one bullet shot through the older brother. Damon for his part was bleeding and seething, eyes red, fangs out, dodging any other attacks running in super speed towards Ric.

Stefan trying to save his teacher tried to hold Damon back, but Damon just pushed him aside like a rag doll in the opposite wall. The distraction was what Alaric needed because he was now throwing the gun away and pulling out a wooden stake.

He didn't have a chance against a furious Damon Salvatore, so in seconds he was pushed to the air, held by the neck. But the hunter wasn't giving up, with last breaths he was trying to make a hit and almost did when Elena jumped like a crazy monkey on the back of the angry bleeding vampire.

Thankfully, because he was wounded he wasn't so strong, and so Stefan, who came back, was able to make him let Alaric go. Before the teacher could try something stupid once again, Stefan had him in a vice grip, hands trapped, stake thrown somewhere. Damon on the other hand, a little more harshly than I expected pushed the angry human off his back and was about to lunge at Ric, when Stefan made him stop so they could understand what was happening.

Surprisingly the older vampire relented, not before picking up the stake and plunging it into the left leg of my history teacher. And glaring at the now hysterically crying Elena.

The pause that came after that, was filled with harsh breathing, struggling sounds and the sniveling of the older Gilbert.

I couldn't stand it.

And not that I am judging, those two had their reasons to be mad...but...Oh My GOD!

Did that just happen? What happened to my freaking perfect plan? I told Alaric how this night should go, and he agreed, that was the only reason I was helping him! But no, he had to ruin maybe the only normal time I have ever had with Damon and Stefan. And yes, that sounds bad, the man thought he was going after the vampire who killed his wife, but was this the way things should be done?

Wasn't he smart? Couldn't he respect my demand? What the hell did Elena tell him and he her, to make them both go bat shit crazy!?

Thank God, that Stefan and Damon were on the same side, so Stefan for the first time wasn't shouting accusations at his brother and was actually trying to help him out. Damon too, if he was still on fuck-Stefan's-life he might have killed Alaric, broken Stefan's neck and taken a sip from the crying human. Let's not forget that he was unstable and had had too much to drink. This is why in the show he always fucked up.

So even after the ambush that I witnessed, I was extremely glad that everyone was breathing. And yes, Alaric would have come back to life, but it was even better if no one knew about the powers his ring had.

So now, on to the hard question, how to break the silence?

...

"Would anyone like some dessert?" that got their entire attention.

Yep. Good going, Ad!

"No one?" I tried again.

"What is going on?" asked Stefan.

Oh, very mature, all of you ignoring me and all…

Wordlessly, Damon stepped past the glaring Elena, taking a seat on the chair next to the one I was standing, while Stefan took Alaric to another and got a rope from God knows where and tied him up, so he would not try the same thing twice...or more ...whatever.

Alaric sure had determination.

"So I take it that you forgot my plan and went with the kamikaze one?" I asked Alaric sarcastically. I would have felt bad for the pain he was in now, because the stake was still sticking out from his leg...but...ehh...he got himself into that mess. Stefan took a long tired breath, before taking a seat himself and drinking the rest of the bourbon Damon had left in his glass, before the invasion.

Ignoring us all, Damon ripped his shirt off and started digging in his abdomen to take out the wooden bullet. He was hissing silently so I went and gave him another glass of alcohol which he gulped down in one go.

"What is going on? What is going on is that this monster killed my mother!" said Elena after finally composing herself a bit.

She then told all of us who her mother was and what her connection was to Alaric. Then, Ric took over and explained curtly his vengeance towards the older Salvatore.

It would have been dandy and all, if it wasn't for the fact that Elena was screaming the whole time, Alaric was threatening and Stefan was rubbing his forehead like all of this has happened before.

I wouldn't be surprised if it had.

My teacher was getting paler with each second, and he didn't protest too much, apart from the painful shout, when Stefan took out the stake and fed him a little of his blood.

"What did you do with her body?" the hunter asked.

Damon had stayed uncharacteristically silent almost like he was lost in his own thoughts. Then his blue eyes turned towards me for a brief moment and then his attention was on Ric.

"By now I would have killed you." Alaric started to trash against the restraints. "But you helped her out." the vampire shrugged in my direction and that stunned me, everyone else too. "So consider it paying you back, me sparing your life. As for your wife, I didn't kill her. I turned her."

"What? No!" the teacher protested, shaking his head furiously.

"She found me and asked me to turn her, I didn't know her and it would have stayed that way if you two didn't come barging into my house. Isobel never said that she had a husband, we didn't talk much. I turned her, taught her some control and then we parted." the vampire said and I didn't miss how Stefan relaxed a bit, probably thinking that this was a much better option than Damon actually killing Ric's wife.

"No...why would she…." whispered Alaric and I felt bad for him.

Elena on the other hand was lost at her own world probably not knowing what to do or how to react.

"I don't care if you believe me. That is what happened." continued the vampire. "But next time you try to kill me..." and before anyone could blink, he held Alaric around the neck, suffocating him, ignoring the shouting of the doppelganger, "Make sure you don't miss, because if you do, I will end you."

Then Damon dropped him on the floor and whooshed off to somewhere.

Stefan and I shared a glance and just like we had read each other's minds, the younger Salvatore went to help Alaric, while I went and hugged the trembling Elena.

Sooner rather than later, I had taken the girl back to the Gilbert's house and Stefan was driving the confused Alaric back to his apartment. I had the feeling that the vampire wanted to do some damage control and make sure that the hunter wouldn't go after him or his brother. So I left him to it. I had a distraught 'sister' to take care of.

Things went from bad to worse, as when we stepped past the front door we were met with Jenna, Jeremy and Bonnie. I had completely forgotten that they all now knew about what was going on so I had no way of avoiding the talk, after they saw what condition the oldest Gilbert sibling was in.

I don't even want to know how much time we spent retelling the whole thing and I , just like Stefan, did some damage control and tried to explain that Damon wasn't at fault and that if Isobel wanted to turn so badly she would have found another vampire to do it, if the Salvatore refused.

"Adelle is right, Elena, for all we know, Damon could have killed Alaric too, it pains me to admit it, but if you want to blame someone it should be Isobel." soothed the witch and I hid back my grin sending her a grateful smile which she returned.

Jenna was helping too, no she didn't say anything nice to backup the vampire, but she was good at making Elena smile. Jeremy had his little brief inputs too, so finally we were able to calm her down completely.

"I might never meet her, I might never find out why she did what she did..." whispered the doppelganger and I had to hold back a comment of how wrong she was.

Thankfully, Bonnie stayed over, because I had gone past my capacity of hysterical people for the day! Yes I did stay with the two in Elena's bedroom, till the human fell asleep but then I was back downstairs making sure Jenna and Jeremy were okay too, with the news we barged in with.

Sure that the drama was delayed for another day, I was happy to go and finally rest.

It has been a tiring day and I knew that tomorrow would be the same no doubt, I would have to have a talk with Alaric about how he could not follow a simple plan, then I was sure that at least one of the brothers would seek out an explanation because it became evident in the boarding house that I had something to do with Alaric coming all killing-snapping tonight.

Oh and let's not skip that fact that Caroline was whisking me away so I could help her with her speech and finding a dress for the Miss Mystic Falls competition.

Just great.

What I found in my bedroom wasn't my unmade bed. Well that too, but with the addition of Damon laying on it like it was his own.

"Your bed sucks." he stated, playing oblivious to the surprised sound that left my lips.

"Well, you are welcome to get out whenever you decide to." I snarked back as I went to my wardrobe and searched for my pajamas.

"Nah, I'm good." the vampire fired back, donning a smirk while his eyes followed my every move.

"Do you need something, Damon?" I asked as I started to remove my makeup facing the mirror placed on the vanity in the right corner of the room.

There was a beat of silence.

"Do you believe me?" he asked. I paused for a moment, trying to understand why he would ask me something like that.

"About what?"

"Turning Isobel."

"Yeah, I believe that she came to you, asked to be turned, you did it and Alaric was just in the wrong place at the wrong time." I nodded, looking at him through the mirror as he too stared at me, face unreadable.

"Why?"

"Why do I trust your words?" He nodded. "Why not, Damon? You haven't lied to me, I consider you a friend and friends have each others backs. So I trust you, just like that." I shrugged and turned around leaning back on the wooden makeup station, facing the older Salvatore.

Now he had my whole attention.

"So as a friend, don't you want to know what we did with Stefan, yesterday? Aren't you curious?" he asked, getting up so he was sitting now.

"If you want you can tell me, Damon, if not, that's okay too." I smiled a bit, not knowing what else I could say.

I couldn't exactly beat it out of him, now could I?

"Stefan and I made up...sort of." he surprised me by saying that.

I wasn't expecting from him to tell me anything, really.

"And by that you mean?" Damon rolled his eyes, finally showing a little amusement after the initial stone face.

"I will no longer make his life a living hell. He would stop with the judging. And well...for the time being I will hang around here, seeing if I could start ..." the vampire paused, looking for the right words.

"If you can trust your brother again." I said and his eyes snapped in my direction, nodding slowly. I smiled. "Well, yes you two will definitely need time for that. As a friend I approve!"

"Your sister hates me, don't you think..." I interrupted him by making a face.

"Please, if I want to be friends, Damon, which I do, she has no say in the matter."

A pause.

"I don't do friends, Adelle."

Cue the eye roll.

"Now you do, Damon. Deal with it."

And then he chuckled, sincerely doing so, no malice or sarcasm to be heard in it. It felt good, to be the one to make Damon Salvatore laugh so freely. To be the reason to put a smile, even if only a little one, on his face.

"Fine. Does that mean I will be included in the girl sleep overs, it's been awhile since I last bore witness to a pillow fight." he grinned cheekily and I almost choked at how hard I laughed out loud.

"Adelle? Is everything okay?" came the voice of Jenna from the other side of the door.

Shit. As I was about to tell to Damon to hide, he was all of a sudden in front of me. Face close, breath hitting my face and I was stunned into silence at how open his expression was. The vampire looked down at me with such sincerity and ...and fondness that my heart was unable to help itself and started to beat almost too fast.

Then his hand caressed my cheek, gently, like he was afraid it could hurt me and I couldn't stop the small smile that took place on my lips.

God, he was breathtaking.

And this gentleness was making my head spin.

"Good night, sweet Adelle." he whispered, voice raspy and deep.

And...yeah...I was blushing like there was no tomorrow.

A blink later, he was gone.

"Adelle?" Jenna snapped me out of my stupor.

"Yeah, everything is fine, Jenna." I answered breathlessly, trying to regulate my traitorous heart.

"Oh, Okay, Good night."

"Good night, aunt Jenna."

 _Good night to you too, Damon._


	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimer

I do not own Vampire Diaries. The O.C. is my only original character.

This story will follow the series to some extend, there will be a lot of changes and you will find a partial O.O.C. here.

It will be rated **[M]** for future chapters and yes it will be a **Menage love story/P** **olygamous relationship** , if you don't like please don't read.

I welcome constructive criticism and if you would like to help me with that, please write me a P.M.

Big thanks to my Beta - Kaderin ( _vkdrie . selene_ ) for correcting this chapter! ^w^

 **[!]** Comments. Follows. Any kind of support is highly appreciated. No kidding, it does give the motivation to update faster!

* * *

Chapter 8

It was as bright and early as ever. Though my mood was anything but, if I had to compare it with anything, it would be with the cold weather outside.

First, I was on my period and call me stupid but I had this understanding that somehow I was released from this 'hell week' that was about to come. No matter how long I stayed in this dimension, I still considered it as anything but reality... because my reality was in the world where I might or might not have the girl sleeping next door on a poster.

So I hope you can understand where my surprise came from when I was hit by an overload of cranky comments and a bad mood.

Taking Beluga once again, a bag with coffee and today's banana's cookies I went on my way to see my annoying history teacher. He was going to get it and if the man didn't find a way to make it up to me for screwing with my amazing plan, I was stealing his keys and making duplicates. Let's see how well he listens next time when he finds me there non stop and Beluga in his bed whenever I felt like it.

The best way to get on someone's nerves is to not leave him alone.

And Alaric Saltzman was one hell of an unlucky guy, because if I was going to school after meeting with him, dissatisfied, the pranks would pour all over his apartment.

Yes, I am that immature.

"Adelle." said my teacher opening the door, even before he saw it was me. "Like I told Stefan, I am not going after Damon or him, anymore. There is no need to ..." Beluga squeezed right between his legs and ran inside. Good puppy! "...to check up on me..." the hunters speech trailing off, I just shrugged and grinned a little when the man let out a long sigh but stepped back so I could come in.

"Today, apart from the coffee, I am bring yummy cookies!" I said over my shoulder as I made myself at home and walked into his kitchen.

The funny thing was that my Samoyed was drinking fresh water from the bowl I left right next to the door. Alaric might not ever admit it but he liked the dog even if he protested every time I left him here while in school, the hunter appreciates his company.

Told you, no one could not not like the puppy.

"And no I am not checking up on you, Ric. I thought it was obvious that we would be having breakfast together till you learn to eat healthy food by yourself." Which, might be never.

The teacher followed me and like usual helped with the setting up of table, silently as I placed the coffee and everything else in front of us both and took my place opposite of him. Hey, I might be in a bad mood, but I wasn't blind, I could see that Alaric was miserable beneath all the composure and the silent stance.

Yeah, he might not be killing or partying like Damon did...and still does, to get over the betrayal of his woman, but Ric mourned in his own way. Which if I could characterize it with one or two words they would be...Grill. Drinking.

Simple but very effective for a mere human.

And I did not miss the empty bottle of whiskey in the sink. He had it good last night.

"I am done, Adelle." Alaric spoke up, taking me out of my thoughts, and when I looked at him, he was already staring at me.

"With?" I asked and tried to ignore how serious he was acting and how he distanced himself from me. Normally even if I annoyed him, his eyes would still shine with a bit of amusement. But not today.

"I am done with anything related to vampires and … and Isobel." he stated and took a deep breath, before continuing. "It's too much for me. I don't know how you do it, but I can't deal with this. Yesterday I found out I had a stepdaughter, that my wife lied to me her whole life and in the end betrayed me for an eternal life by turning into a vampire, making me think she was dead." he shook his head in disbelief like he could not accept that something like this was happening to him. "I just can't take anymore, I don't want anything to do with whatever is going on here, Adelle."

Did he? Was he trying to throw me out of his life?

What the hell did I do?

And just before I was about to ask him that, I shut my mouth, seeing the sorrow that took over his whole face. Shit. I was getting emotional too …

"I don't deal with anything, Ric." I started, keeping my voice level. "I just accept it as it is. In life, I've learned that we will meet a lot of people, most of whom will betray us, will disappoint us and will hurt us. That's the way it is, for all of us. What you do after that, is the thing that makes a difference, Alaric. Because that's when we see who are the ones that truly matter, the ones we can trust and help us get past all the shit we were given. I am not here because I want you to be part of what is going on in town. I am here, because I like it, because I like you. I consider you a friend, Ric, and in my book, friends are there for each other."

The man regarded me for a long time, thinking over my words. Staring at me like he was looking for a lie or for a joke.

"I'm sorry for neglecting your plan, Adelle." I shrugged. He was just like Damon, they knew I was right, but God forbid if they ever admit it.

So the best way they would deal with it? Change the topic.

Fine.

"Yeah...I will hold you to that, teach! Things could have gone a lot smoother." I sent him a stink eye and he chuckled as response.

"I ...wasn't thinking very clearly..." he continued.

"Sure, let's call it that. So? How does it feel to know that you have a step daughter?" I asked and his body tensed up.

"Elena...I completely forgot about her last night. Is she….okay?" he asked.

"Well, she is acting like any teenager who found out her mother was a liar and manipulative person, leaving her for no reason and then becoming a vampire." he winced. "And...yeah, her presumed step dad is planning on ignoring her too, that will go just dandy!" I continued sarcastically and rolled my eyes when the teacher looked away.

"I can't..I can't be what she needs, Adelle, she has you, Jenna and Jeremy, I am not in the right frame of mind to be around her." He tried to explain to get away from it but I wasn't buying it.

"Sure, why would she want to spend time with the only person that knew her real mother? Elena must be crazy for wanting to get to know her step father! The horror!" I waved my hands dramatically, and yep, I was totally spilling sarcastic shit all over the place. Probably will for the whole day too…

Who am I kidding, the whole week!

"Adelle..." sighed Alaric, putting his hand over his face, which he shook, representing a totally lost person.

"I am not forcing you to do anything, Ric, it's your choice, your life, but as a friend I am obligated to tell you what an idiot you will be to push everyone away." I shrugged, purposefully drinking my coffee way too loudly and staring him directly in the eyes.

And he had the decency to roll his at me.

You poor soul, by the end of the day I will have a copy of your keys and then you will wish you had never annoyed me during my hell week!

Tch.

"I need nicer friends then." he fired back and I grinned at him, showing that I did not give a fuck what he needed.

Men.

If he only knew that his next buddy would be the one and only Damon Salvatore, he would be begging me for forgiveness! Muahha!

Okay, so I might be a tad bit more dramatic than usual.

"Whatever, Alaric, you know you love me, now let's go to school, or we will be late!" I exclaimed and jumped from my seat. Beluga was next to us in seconds.

"You bring him on purpose don't you?" He sent me a palpable glare. "You know full well that there is no time to bring him back to your house."

"Don't pretend you don't like him, Ric!" I stuck out my tongue. "You are a sucker for Beluga just like any other mortal...or immortal." I added grinning.

My teacher just ignored me, bending to scratch the ears of the dog lovingly, thinking I didn't notice his smile and then we were out.

Oh, and I might have taken his apartment keys which he totally irresponsibly placed unprotected next to the cup holder in his car.

* * *

Seeing as Stefan was coming my way, I quickly pulled Jeremy aside before he could go inside the building for his first class.

"What the.." he started but I thrust the stolen key from Ric into his chest, making sure no one saw what it was. Fuck! I was feeling like a total James Bond spy here.

"Make duplicates of those and return them to me before the last class." I whispered, sparing a glance at the curious vampire who was few steps away from us, no doubt hearing what I was saying.

"What? Why?" asked my confused my-not-brother-but-somehow-brother and I rolled my eyes at him.

"Doesn't matter why, just do it." Looking down at his hand holding the keys and then back at me.

"These are not from our house, Ad. How...who's?"

"Jeremy…." I whined a bit more forcefully, and the brat cringed back huffing something under his breath.

"Seriously, one day, I expect you to call me from prison to bail you out or something, with all these requests you have been giving me lately..." he shook his head disbelievingly and now I was really offended.

"Hey! That is so not true!" the kid threw me a questioning look, silently saying- 'the fuck if it is not!' "I wouldn't get to that point, because you would be helping me out, little bro!" I punched him in the arm and ignoring his glare I continued. "And you were the one who wanted to have a closer relationship with me, what better way than to commit a crime together?" I grinned and the boy chuckled.

"Yeah, so do I need to buy a shovel and have it available whenever you might call to bury a body?"

"Yep." I nodded. Completely serious. I wasn't going to tell him, though, that his big sis had already dug out a grave...

"It's these moments, I question our family's sanity..." he murmured and turned to enter the building.

"Does that mean you will do it?" I shouted after him and as an only response I got a wave over his head.

He would so do it!

Good boy.

Then there was a clearing of a throat. Looking to my left I saw Stefan now next to me, the question obvious on his face.

"Don't ask." I grinned and to distract him, I hugged the vampire.

Yes, Ad, that was the only reason you did it…

Pulling back, Stefan still had his hands around my mid section and it sent tingles all over my body, making it impossible to stop the big smile from forming on my lips. He was a head taller than me so I always had to look up to meet his green eyes that were more vibrant up close then I remember them being. He was smiling too, his features were relaxed and the brooding, worrying vampire I knew from the series was nowhere to be found. And I loved it.

"Last night the food was actually very good." Stefan said when we were interrupted by the bell and made our way to the first class.

"Yeah?" he nodded and I grinned. "Did you two try the ice cream?"

"After I left Alaric's place I went back to the house and Damon was in the kitchen." that picked up my attention even more. "Surprisingly, he had prepared two bowls of ice-cream with your...ugh...blood sauce on top of it."

"Oh my!" I jumped in front of him, stopping him from walking inside the classroom. "So? How was it?" the curiosity was killing me, come on, tell me!

I could be the next Ramsay for vampires all around the world!

"It was surprisingly delicious." Stefan confirmed and I squealed like a lunatic on sugar. Laughing at my excitement he then continued. "And I am not telling you that because I haven't tasted human blood in over ten years." that made me stop jumping.

"How are you feeling after this? Any cravings?" I asked. I knew I was worried and it was showing but maybe it was too much for him, maybe I made a mistake and it will get us all killed. But then Stefan shook his head and let out a small smile, carding his hand through my hair, stopping where it could touch my cheek. His fingers were a bit cold and contrasted with my warm skin but it felt so soothing that I was not able to do anything but lean in to the touch.

"After that Damon made me go hunting. I would have never believed it was real, but he helped me control the urge for more, Adelle." I was enticed by his voice that encircled me, pulling me in, while trapping me in this trance where all I could see, all I could hear and sense was Stefan. "This morning, I agreed to try, to learn control. My brother was there for me Addie and for the first time I feel like I can trust him. I..."

"You can't believe that it's real." he slowly nodded, his green eyes never leaving mine and all I felt was how amazing it was to be so close to him. The way the vampire looked at me, made me weak, made me want to take a deep breath, because my heart was beating way too fast and my lungs could not keep up. "This is what it's like to have your brother back, Stefan. Now you can both trust each other, that's the first step towards repairing your bond." I whispered, because if I spoke too loudly, I was sure that my voice would break.

I was really letting this go way too far.

"Do you think I could do it?" the younger Salvatore asked me and I did not miss how truly insecure he felt.

"You have to take a leap of faith Stefan, that's the only way to find out what awaits you on the other side. But if I have to be honest, I do believe Damon would never betray you again and that he is trying as hard as you are to get his brother back."

He took a deep breath, closing his eyes and leaning in. I stood there frozen and rigid. My whole body was as still as a statue. I really believed that Stefan would kiss me, his lips were almost grazing mine and maybe it was the high I was experiencing, because for a moment I felt them on me, but then they were gone and instead, he leaned his forehead on mine.

This touch felt so intimate, so tender and I could finally see what the emotion the vampire had in his eyes, just before he closed them.

Affection. Pure affection.

And it was all towards me. I have never been on the receiving end of something so ground shaking, so strong that it burned wherever those beautiful enticing orbs laid on my skin.

And I felt completely embarrassed because before I came here, in this crazy world, I had never let anyone come this close to me. I had always guarded my personal space like it was my lifeline. It felt uncomfortable when someone would step past the invisible line I had drawn around me. I would somehow one way or another find a reason to back off, to step back. But not this time.

No.

Until today, I would have pulled away, I would have hidden, but this urge to put the walls around me wasn't there. Okay, I was lying, it was there and it was screaming in my brain to get the hell away from something I have never experienced. But there was another part of me a stronger and louder part that knew me better, that understood and encouraged me to follow this pull I felt towards the man in front of me.

And even if I was terrified, I felt too good, too far at home to step away.

So I lean into him too. Encircling my arms around his back, and holding onto his gray shirt, under his leather jacket, like this motion would ground me in place.

And it did, because if I wasn't holding on, I would have fallen on the ground, feeling trapped but free at the same time. My head was turning over and over, Stefan's scent was circling me and his breathing was fanning over my face, pulling me in some kind of lullaby state, where all I could think of was the vampire who was never supposed to be real.

"Oh...O-oh!" there was a noise from somewhere near me, and you know the seconds when you are waking up? When you aren't sure if you are still dreaming or if you're awake? Yeah, I was finding myself feeling that and questioning if Caroline was real or a figment of my imagination.

But then again, why would I be thinking of the blond, when I was in the embrace of one of the most surreal men there was?

Yep, she was in fact real, and the captain of the cheer squad was looking at both of us like we were the next best dress she found and had no patience to try on. Or, better yet, she looked like she was ready to explode, the grin on her face threatening to split her face in two.

"Hello, Caroline." greeted Stefan who was faster at composing himself from whatever we had found ourselves being in, but the huskiness in his voice was evident. It made me blush, how hot he sounded, Care was turning blue, indicating that the girl was barely holding inside the many questions and squeals from rushing out of her vibrantly painted pink lips.

"I will see you later Stefan." I quickly turned towards the vampire that snapped his head in my direction, and then nodded, sensing like any guy that it was safer for him to be as far away from the committee planner, when she was in one of those moods.

"Okay." he smiled at Caroline and then he leaned down towards me and kissed my forehead. It was just a feather like touch and I would have wanted it to last longer, but then we both heard the high pitched 'Eeeep!' that came from the closed mouth of the blond, and I knew it was time to save her from her misery or her blue eyes would pop out.

And seriously, she was turning blue.

Stefan let out a breathy chuckle, which I returned with a grin and a nod. Then he was on his way to his own class. Not minding that we were all late by now.

When he turned around the corner I didn't even have the chance to say a word before I had one new set of hands gripping my own, like I was about to run.

"What was that?!" Care almost screeched.

Then came the shaking and my already dizzy brain became totally lost.

"Are you two..."

Then there were the signs and the waving of hands, which I had a hard time avoiding.

Next I was jumping with her, not of my own decision.

My forehead was poked a bit too and thankfully I was saved by our teacher that came from the classroom, looking anything but happy. Caroline had made such a show that a lot of people inside had heard her, not that she cared or about the detention she got us both, or that I was so red that I would gladly hide myself under the desk.

No, the blond was too busy texting Elena and Bonnie about something I didn't even have the chance to explain or comment.

Suffice to say that by the end of the day I had not gotten a moment to myself as I had to repeat, three times, to the three noisy girls that it wasn't what Caroline described the scene to be.

That Stefan and I were friends.

That yes, I cared a lot about him, but no, I wasn't ready for something like that.

That we both had our own problems and family drama to solve before we could dive into anything with anyone.

I just hoped that he agreed with me, because even if I wasn't ever going to admit it out loud, I did actually notice how the vampire looked at me, I did notice that he did move in to kiss. I wasn't completely oblivious, I don't know to what extent it went, but Stefan Salvatore did have feelings for me.

And I...I might have feelings for him as well.

That was what I was afraid of the most, when realizing I was getting close to both brothers. I would sooner or later develop some kind of emotional bond, that will make things so much harder.

But no matter what was going to happen from now on, keeping in mind the new revelations I had, I still had made a promise to myself to find out why I was here, how I got here and how I could get to see my family again.

* * *

In detention I ignored the talkative blond and had Tyler as a way to pass the two boring hours after school. Thankfully, Jeremy had given me the keys back with the addition of the duplicates and I was just waiting for the last few minutes to pass, so I could break into Alaric's apartment.

Yeah, I liked the guy, but he had chosen the wrong week to make me angry, the Adelle you are seeing now, is the vengeful for no real reason Adelle.

The easiest way to understand this is to just accept that I become very strange...or stranger than my usual self and don't have the usual boundaries I would keep when not experiencing hell week.

So, after promising that I would come and pick up Caroline when she was done with her cheer practice, I went straight to my car, thankfully avoiding the vampire in the school and any further questions about what was I doing in the next hour. I knew that Alaric wouldn't be back home for at least three more hours, because he had a teachers meeting and then a ...date with Jenna, so I was in no hurry while I entered his property.

Beluga was there to greet me when I was finally in and after a few minutes of just playing with him, I was suddenly hit with inspiration as to what I could do to my dear hunter. Starting from his kitchen, followed by the puppy, I changed the place of the cups, moving them where his instant food was. Then I took all of his forks and had them placed in the jar where the teacher was keeping his coffee. Said coffee was moved in another jar that now stood below the sink right next to the cleaning appliances.

Pleased with my work there, I took over the living room, where I purposely turned over the batteries in the remote, so they would be still there but were now useless. That done, though not before switching the channels to porn so that when Alaric did turn the tv on it would be the first thing to come up.

Nodding to myself and playing some more with Beluga I made my way towards the bedroom, where I changed his alarm to go off two hours earlier than normal. Deciding that it was enough I ended up in his bathroom, where I put the pink toothbrush I had brought with me next to his blue one and a vibrant pink lipstick next to his shaving cream. Oh and few pads … just for a finishing touch.

Very happy with my adjustments to Alaric's apartments, I changed Beluga's water before exiting the apartment and when I was back in school I had 20 minutes to spare so I went straight to Alaric's classroom, which of course was empty, I placed his keys on the floor right next to his desk. So when he finds out that they are missing he would see them there and think nothing of it. At least until he got home and saw the little maddening changes I made to his place.

My mood was lifted up after doing something like that, so I happily skipped over towards my blond friend and sat on the bleachers, watching her shout and be fabulous while threatening a slow death to her squad members.

Caroline was just cool like that.

When we were finally in her car, driving towards Whitmore, I listened to her with pleasure as she talked about her day, her excitement for tomorrow's pageant while I reassured her, numerous times, that she would win it. Without a doubt. I had already seen it, so she should better believe it.

We then spent the next few hours just having amazing girl time, that I dearly needed during this painful week, choosing a dress for her, having our nails done and my roots. We were now happily munching on some sweets, talking like like back home waiting for me was a whole supernatural mess.

In the middle of one of Caroline Forbes well known, usual and endearing rants I pulled my phone out, texting back Jeremy, Tyler and Elena and then, with a mouth full with vegan chocolate bar, I searched through my contact list.

Ah...there it is.

So how should I lure him in? I mean, yeah, I had a few options, but what was the best, most hilarious one?

'I need you to come home. - Adelle.'

It took him less than a minute to write back.

 _'Adelle? Is something wrong? - John.'_

And yes, you are reading this correctly, I was as of this moment speaking with my not-so-real-uncle.

'I need you here! There's something going on. I'm bleeding and it hurts! - Adelle.' And I was totally not lying, I was bleeding just not the way he thought of!

 _'Bleeding? What do you mean bleeding? Are you hurt? - John.'_

Grinning like a maniac I typed back.

'I can't tell you, but I'm alive… Uncle please, come back. Something bad is going on here. - Adelle.'

 _'Stay home, I will be in Mystic Falls in less th_ _a_ _n two days. - John.'_

Taadaa!

That was easy. I was silently cackling, trying to hide the sinister smirk I had no doubt of sporting so Care wouldn't question my suspicious behavior. But it was hard, really hard.

Putting that aside I would be generous and tell you the backstory to of all of this.

So, like usual, things were happening way too slowly, and because my hell week was the time when I usually came up with the best ideas, just because of the pure evilness I felt towards the entire world for making me go through this pain, I formed an amazing plan to push things along the way I wanted them to go.

So my first step was to lure the Gilbert's uncle back to Mystic Falls. Because the Salvatore's killed the tomb vampires, he or Katherine were not alerted of the opening to said tomb. So the man had no reason to come back. That one hand was good, because he was a pain in the ass and one of my least favorite people I in the show. But then if he didn't show up, Elena would not find out the truth about her real father … cough … him...cough and I would not have a way to get to Isobel.

Which was my ultimate idea.

So what I had in mind was to compel John to tell the whole gang the truth, which would facilitate a lot of my work and he would give us a way to capture Elena's biological mother. How how would I do that? Well, I of course had already thought of a plan, and I would have spilled the beans to you by now….but I don't feel like it, so this would be a little secret till it was time.

Really, the only thing you needed to know was that my plan was foolproof and that everyone would have a lot of answers in the next 24-48 hours.

And I really don't want to spoil the surprise.

"I am so excited for tomorrow, Addie!" exclaimed Caroline and I nodded smiling at her direction.

"I am too, Care."

For more than one reason.

The blond left me in front of Alaric's place and holding back the grin from splitting my face I knocked on his door. When the teacher opened it it was obvious that he had just come home too, so he had still not had the chance to experience first hand my thank-you-for-not-following-my-plan-gift.

I was bummed to not see his reaction face to face, but then the later he found out, the bigger the shock would be. So as innocently as I could ever act to be, I took my dog and went home...back to the Gilbert's house.

After having dinner with everyone, barely holding back from shouting that their all time favorite uncle was coming for a visit, and listening to Elena practice with Jenna the answers to the questions for tomorrow's pageant, I excused myself.

The day was very eventful, so I totally forgot to drink my pills that prevented me from feeling pain, and so three hours later I woke up at one a.m. feeling like someone was hitting me with a hammer repeatedly in the stomach.

Quickly I took the pills, but I knew it would take around an hour or more till the effects kicked in. So I had a mini moment of, where I moved back and forth, knowing that the pain I was about to feel was going to get worse. Yes. The second night was what I felt to be the one that made me cry in pain, if like tonight I forgot my pills. It sounds scary, but I don't think I was the only one out there.

Deciding that it was better not be alone, and that I would not be falling asleep soon, I silently put on some leggings, an oversized sweater and cardigan, taking my keys I went straight to the boarding house.

The pain was ready to knock me down when I was standing at the front door of the Salvatore boarding house, and I knew by now how bad I had to have looked due to the pain i was feeling, so I didn't waste time on knocking and flung myself at a sleepy, half naked Stefan, who greeted me.

"A...Adelle? What is going on? Are you okay?" he asked and I was unable to stop the small whimper that left my lips. I felt the vampire's whole body become rigid, no doubt from hearing that.

Stefan scooped me up into his arms and while I hid my face in his chest he moved me to the parlor. Placing me softly on one of the couches, he crouched down in front of me and looked so worried that I willed myself to calm down a bit.

"What is going on?" asked Damon who now stood just a step away from his brother, looking down at me, with what I could clearly identify as worry.

I brought my knees up to my chest, taking the only position I knew could somehow lessen the excruciating pain I felt, encircling my legs in a hug and taking a deep ragged breath.

God, it hurt like a bitch.

And I felt annoyed that I stupidly forgot to take my pills.

Good job, Ad!

"Adelle." I looked up to see, Stefan who was even closer now, touching my forehead. "You look pale, what is going on?" he asked again.

I spared both brothers a glance, taking notice of their half naked state and normally I would have swooned if I wasn't ready to cry from the waves of painful spasms I was going through.

"Hell week. It's hell week." I said, clenching my teeth. There was a silent pause, before Damon let out an 'oh' and both men had never looked more human than right in this moment as they had this uncomfortable and a bit of an embarrassed expression all over their faces.

Even them, after living for over 150 years, still did not know how to react to a woman during her period. It would be funny, if I didn't feel like hitting both of them.

Because it was unfair.

So fucking unfair, for them to be standing there all god like and perfect, while I was probably turning blue and WWIII was happening inside me.

"I...what….do you...ugh, what...I mean… uhm...how can we...help?" asked Stefan tentatively, as he probably was at least aware of how cranky and dangerous the female species were in this time of the month.

Damon was already holding a glass of bourbon, sporting the same hilarious pooped expression his brother had.

Like seriously, they could deal with vampires, originals and werewolves, but when it came to a girl experiencing a very shitty period, they looked like lost kids.

It would be endearing.

But not at this moment.

A cold wave washed over me and I felt like rolling on the floor, wailing at how much I wanted it to end. The younger brother then disappeared and for a second I thought he had made a run for it, but then he came back, encircling my trembling body with a blanket. Before I could open my mouth to thank him, I felt hands slowly moving on my shoulders. Looking back, Damon had placed his alcohol somewhere in the name of...of actually massaging my tensed muscles and I would have blushed like a complete fan girl if his movements didn't bring the most incredible feeling in my rigid body.

The whole situation felt so surreal and I would have thought that I was dreaming, but the pain was too damn real and I knew for a certain fact that Damon Salvatore was giving me a massage while Stefan Salvatore was holding my hands, threading our fingers together, cooling them with his cold ones.

I was in heaven.

I'm not sure how long that went on for, but with each passing moment, the pain slowly faded away, till it was a distant, but still there, feeling. They knew it too, maybe it was because I wasn't so pale anymore, or that I stopped trembling, but when the crisis was averted, the brothers sat opposite of me, staring at me, observing if I would start wailing in pain again. When they found that it was over, both in one way or another sagged back in their couches, it was almost invisible, but I knew them well, so I didn't miss the looks they sported for a second or two.

They looked relieved, like they had succeeded in preventing an atomic bomb from exploding.

And now when I had no pain to distract me, I was free to admit that the brothers looked damn adorable like that. Not that I was going to say it out loud.

Damon threaded his hand through his raven hair a few times, while Stefan rubbed his eyes.

"Does this happen every month?" asked the younger brother.

I was still hugging my legs, but this time because it was comfortable like that, not to stop my stomach from splitting in half. I looked carefully at the vampires as they waited for my response.

"Yeah, it's like that every second night, but normally I take pills to stop it from happening. It was my mistake to forget to taking them on time." I said and looked tentatively at them, almost shyly admitting. "Sorry for...barging in here and making this your problem too. Thank you for helping this go away." I smiled a little, gazing at them through my lashes because it was the first time someone, apart from my sister, to be the one there for me and it felt almost too good to be true.

"Couldn't really leave you looking like death itself." Damon spoke waving me off, but I did not miss how warm his blue eyes turned when I thanked them. Too bad he stood up and went to get a refill of his drink.

"You're okay, now?" Stefan asked unsure, not having looked away from me.

"Yeah." I nodded and heard him sigh and saw his body relax further. This whole scene made my heart soar with happiness, for both of them.

"You made me worry, Addie. You looked so..."

"Fragile." the older brother finished off for him and I saw the shared look they had between each other.

"Well, I am human, so in comparison to both of you, I thought it was obvious." I smiled at them, not quite understanding what shared look between them was for.

Damon then lifted his glass in sarcastic salute for what I said and I rolled my eyes in amusement.

"I shouldn't keep you up any longer." I then said , catching both of their attention. What? Did they expect me to stay there all night?

"Yeah, so you can use my body and then go home, I see how this is." the raven haired man mocked me, faking horror, making me snort and Stefan to shake his head.

"You have magical hands, Damon no need to discuss that." I grinned at him and I was sure he was about to say something sexual but Stefan beat him to it, standing up.

"Okay! There is no need for you to go so quickly, Adelle. I would prefer it if you stayed a bit longer so I can be sure that you are okay."

I was about to tell him that once the pills kicked in, I was good, but then shut my mouth when I saw the worry in his green eyes. If me staying here for half an hour longer was going to make him feel better, it was the least I could do as a way to pay him back for what he and his brother did for me tonight.

"Okay." I nodded.

Then Damon smirked. I knew that smirk very well.

"Goody! We can breakout the family albums now." he waved sarcastically and before Stefan had the chance to shut down the idea, the older brother was gone, no doubt searching for the said thing.

"Great." groaned the ex Ripper and I laughed at his distress.

"Is it that bad?" I probed, remembering the episode when Elena met Damon for the first time and he proposed the same thing to her. Something about Stefan looking awkward in his early years.

Now there was no way of stopping me see those pictures!

"Yeah, they...they are old...and..." he tried to explained and I barely contained my giggles at how embarrassed the vampire looked. God! How have I not seen this album before tonight!?

Damon was back in a minute. He had a sinister grin on his face, sitting excited on the table in front of me, while Stefan was called to begrudgingly take place next to me on the sofa.

The moment the older man opened the first page I couldn't contain the squeal from escaping my lips. It was baby Stefan, dressed in the most adorable way and then a few more super cute photos of him completely naked and lying in a dress that Damon happily told me was their mother's. If Stefan could blush he would have turned tomato red by now, as he was looking anywhere else but the album. I didn't quite catch what he was mumbling under his nose, but by the amusement of his brother, I had not doubt it was something funny. Too bad I was invested entirely on the black and white photos that I had no doubt only the most well off families in their time could afford.

"Okay, turn the next page, that's enough." the blond man almost pouted and I decided to spare him the further embarrassment and do what he asked of us.

What we did find on the second page, made me snort so loud that the town center would hear me.

Damon on the other hand choked. Eyes bulging so much that they were about to pop out of their sockets. And before he could grab the album Stefan had it in his hands, shaking so hard that I wasn't surprised by the force of his laughter.

Why?

Because the second page was full with photos of Damon Salvatore, cute toddler, sporting heels and curly hair.

And yes, one with his cute little bottom on full display.

I bet he had forgotten all about it.

"Give it back!" he exclaimed going after Stefan, as he stepped away from his older brother that looked so petrified I wished I had my camera with me. Stefan on the other hand was grinning like the devil, making fun of Damon just like he had done to him.

And I?

I was crying, laughing and begging for help because I could not breathe, because this was one of the most preciously hilarious moments I would ever have in my life.

It was unforgettable.

And suffice to say that when Damon got his hands on the album, the little trip down memory lane was over and I had the sneaky feeling the raven vampire was locking the said album somewhere no one would ever find it ever again.

Both Stefan and I, as he drove me back to my house, kept on laughing and chuckling, because really, those things didn't even happen in the movies.

* * *

The next morning I was awakened too early, and the reason was Caroline who was having a mental break down on the phone. As today was the pageant she was nervous and I spent 20 minutes making sure she would get herself together. The competition was at 11:30 and I had plenty of time to do what I had planned for the morning.

Dodging Jeremy and his questions about the keys from yesterday, I ate breakfast with Jenna and Elena, who looked calm and ready for today's event. When we were done, the doppelganger had to leave for the final preparations for the competition that would take place in four hours.

I took my bag and camera and drove straight back to the boarding house. On the way there my one and only favorite teacher called me and I put him on speaker.

"What can I do for you, Alaric, on this fine morning?" I asked, barely holding back the evil snicker that was bubbling to come out.

" _Yeah, about that, do you have anything to tell me, Adelle?_ " came his response and I knew he too was composing himself from no doubt the desire to shout my ears off till they bled. By now he had to have found at least half of the changes that inexplicably took over in his apartment.

"Not that I am aware of, Ric." I played it nonchalant.

God, what I would give to have seen his reaction when he turned on the TV and it was on the porn channel. The hunter should be thankful, he got it easy, next time he does something like that I will make sure that Jenna is in the room when the moans of the porn stars were filling the room.

And people said I wasn't forgiving!

Can you imagine?

But then my sister was the best teacher there is….a-a-and I am too happy this morning to start thinking about that.

" _But really, pads? It was interesting to find the coffee and even more to be_ _woken_ _two hours earlier on my day off, but instead of hearing the news I was greeted with a …. rather compromising scene between a teacher and...student? Really? How did you pull that of?_ " he asked and even if I detected annoyance I was prepared for anger. That didn't come.

But then, Ric was cool like that.

"I have no idea what are you talking about, Alaric." I hmm-ed on purpose and was no more holding back the grin that was splitting my face in two.

I did not miss the long sigh from the other side of the call.

" _The message was received loud and clear, Adelle. Next time I won't promise to do something and not keep my word._ " compromised my teacher.

Good!

"I'm glad to hear you say that, even if I am not quite sure from where that admission is coming from." I still decided to play dumb.

He snorted. Totally not falling for my act.

" _Whatever, I just want to make sure that it will be safe to live in my own apartment from now on, right?_ " he asked.

"But, of course, Ric, I see no problem of you doing that, who ever did this awful, disgraceful and totally outrageous prank would surely lay off. Call it… a hunch of mine." and this time I didn't hold back the small chuckle.

He heard me very well too.

" _A hunch, yeah...this hunch better keep it's promise._ " muttered the hunter and I rolled my eyes amused.

"Have an amazing day, Alaric!" I sang before ending the call, completely cutting him of.

Well, I am sure he will live!

Heh.

Marching up to the same wooden door, this time without the shitty pain, I knocked and was greeted with Damon.

"Well, hello, sweet Adelle. To what do I owe this pleasure?" he smirked, leaning on one side of the said door, looking me up and down, like he was checking me for something.

Was he looking for the same sickly pale girl he saw last night?

Well, she was gone...till next month at least.

Stefan then blurred out standing next to his brother.

"Adelle?"

"Stefan?" we said in the same time. "Why aren't you with Elena?" I then asked and saw the confusion that took place on his face.

"Why should I be with her?" he asked back.

"Well, aren't you accompanying her to the pageant today?" like he did in the series.

"She never asked." shrugged the vampire. "From what I know, she is going with Tyler." what? Why was I not informed about this?

"I...oh...I see. Well..." that left me kind of surprised.

"Do come in!" smirked Damon amused by how lost I looked for a second there but I shook my head, composing myself. "I am actually here for something." I said, catching their attention. "I need you to compel someone for me."

Cue the evil grin.

Muaha!

The raven vampire looked intrigued and kind of amused, the ex Ripper was surprised and curious. Thank God, they did not start questioning me.

"Well lead the way!" said the amused older brother as Stefan followed him.

"I...the thing is...well it's a long story and this person is not exactly in town." I said, smiling innocently, that I knew by now they both were aware it meant anything but good.

The brothers looked at each other, and like yesterday, they had this silent convo slash stare down, which I totally did not understand, but was accustomed to, as my sister and I did the same thing a lot.

"A road trip sounds like fun." Stefan turned to me, smiling a little, looking too damn pleased for some reason as Damon disappeared and then appeared once again with the keys to his car.

"Yeah, and we're taking the Camaro."

No one protested.

Ten minutes later we were exiting the town's borders. I was sitting in the back seat, looking comfortable and all, while Damon was driving and Stefan was in the passenger seat.

"So mind sharing where we're going?" quipped an amused Damon looking back at me through the mirror. Stefan turned so he could look at me directly, as curious as his brother was.

"We are visiting Samuel Nightingale." I started. "Known for his interesting investigations and interviews. Or in other words Caroline's role model and the reason she wants to become journalist."

Stefan looked lost, Damon was shaking his head, pretty much expecting anything but that.

"I should have guessed, no matter how many times I think I have figured you out...you..." the older brother spared me a glance back before turning his attention on the road. And I did not miss the amazement that showed in his blue eyes.

"Why are we compelling him?" asked Stefan, and I was surprised that he didn't protest the idea.

Damon did have some influence on him, already!

"Well.." I shrugged. "When Care wins the pageant today, I want to give her the gift she deserves. She worked so hard to get this tiara and even if I am not one bit interested in those kind of things, it still means a lot to her. And in a way I want to apologize for not being the best friend she needs all the time, as we had to deal with some supernatural things lately." both brothers stared at me, Stefan for longer than Damon, but they were sporting the same expression.

Awe.

Hey! I wasn't such a sucky friend! They should not be so surprised. I loved Caroline.

"So..." I continued, ignoring their reactions. "I thought what better gift then a message from her idol and an autograph? The bad part was that he lived in New York and that was too far away, so I had to think of a way to lure him closer." I spared them both a meaningful glance. "Don't ask how I did it, but he is probably already waiting for us in a hotel two towns over from here."

"So...correct me if I'm wrong..." started Damon. "When you said that you needed us to compel someone, you meant this..."

"Samuel." I quipped.

"Yes, him, that's why we are here right now, that's all?" he asked.

At least the vampire wasn't exactly annoyed, but I knew he couldn't care less about my blond friend.

So he wasn't exactly pleased too.

"Well, I don't know about you Damon, but I care about my friends and if that means that I have to lie, compel and deceive to make them happy...so be it." I shrugged.

There was a silence.

When I looked up, Stefan was smiling gently at me, in this tender kind of way.

Damon was shaking his head, but when our eyes met, there wasn't anger and irritation, there was...warmness, like he could not believe that he was wasting his free time on something so stupid, but in the same time he looked pleased, almost...proud? Of me? I don't know, but I sure did notice that his blue eyes were gentle while they were locked with mine, making me as breathless as I felt whenever Stefan gave me that exact same look.

"Next time we go on a road trip, I am choosing what we are doing. Your kind of fun sucks, sweetheart." the older vampire winked at me making me laugh and Stefan chuckle.

I was surprised that he gave up so quickly, that he took it all with amusement.

It was mind blowing.

Stefan then turned on the radio and music filled the car, he and I leaned back, both relaxed and liking the song that was on and Damon went as far as to sing along.

It was hilarious.

Later as we were entering the town where we would meet the journalist, a thought struck me, grinning a little, I took out my camera and prepared it. In the pause between the end of one song and the beginning of another I asked, innocently.

"So...do vampires sense when a woman is on her period? Is this kind of blood alluring to them too?"

The car swerved a bit on the road, Stefan choked in surprise and then both brothers turned back towards me with shocked faces.

 _Click. Click._

I took two pictures, letting my grin split completely over my face. Their reaction! Their reaction!

Hyahyahhayay!

"Adelle..." groaned Stefan, threading his fingers through his hair, probably questioning what he did to deserve such a weirdo being his friend.

Damon only snorted and said.

"Should have known she would pull something like that..."

Again, I just shrugged.

They will learn.

* * *

In exactly half an hour Damon had compelled Caroline's idol and I had filmed a video of him congratulating her on her win and saying a few inspirational words to keep on pursuing her dreams. We made him even say that he had read some of her work that I 'sent' and commenting on her talent. Which she did have, but didn't really believe in. I took a few photos of him too and then few autographs as well.

Just as I was finishing up, Damon grabbed my attention. He was lounging on one of the sofas in the hotel room, while Stefan was perched next to the window both observing the whole situation.

"I think that now is a good time for Stefan's training." said the older Salvatore.

"What?" asked Stefan snapping his head in his brother's direction.

"Oh, you know, you having a drink of a warm human blood." waved the unconcerned blue eyed man.

Stefan was shaking his head vigorously. Probably ready to deny anything. I just needed to say something before they started bickering.

"Yeah… I'm all for it, but not on this guy here, I don't want to break Caroline's idol please!" Damon snorted, saluting me with the glass in his hand as I winked at him.

"Thank you for believing in me, Adelle." bitterly said the ex ripper, looking anything but happy.

"I do believe in you, Stefan, but really, Caroline respects this man so much and if something happens to him she would be hurt. His assistant is in the next room, use her instead." I waved off and Damon was already at the door, about to go and pick the said human.

"How can you care so little about them, Adelle!? They are people too!" exclaimed Stefan, coming to stand next to me, eyes roaming mine, probably looking for answers. Damon had stopped too, observing the interaction, and seeing the curiosity in his eyes, I knew he wanted to hear what I had to say too.

"Look, I am selfish, I care only about the people I love, I am interested only in a few, everyone else...it really is not my problem. I don't want to save to world Stefan, I don't want to be a hero or a sacrificial goat for the greater good. I have no illusions of being a good person, because I don't give a damn ...for everybody. People kill, people die, people hurt, I can't help them, I don't want to, I don't have to, but I will do all of that for everyone that is part of me, which is Caroline, for example, you and Damon too. I am ready to do whatever it takes for you, but that does not mean I will do it for someone I don't know. That is the truth, this is how I think, this is how I will always see things, now is the time for you to accept this, to accept me, Stefan." I stared at him, right in the eyes, he was doing the same taking in everything I just said. "And if I were you, Stefan, I would do the same. You don't owe anything to anyone, just to the people you care about."

My blue orbs then traveled to Damon who surprisingly was now next to his brother. And his eyes twinkled with...with approval. He looked pleased, he looked pleasantly surprised even. And I felt giddy that I was the one provoking those feelings in him. His attention then turned towards Stefan, who was also looking at his brother.

Something shocking occurred next, just before my eyes. Damon placed a hand on the shoulder of the younger Salvatore, and nodded.

"See? I am not the only one that thinks like that, brother." he said seriously and there was no trace of a smirk or sarcasm.

"I...I know." nodded Stefan, sparing both of us a look. "It's just that I don't want to kill anyone anymore, not because I lost control at least." he explained.

I smiled at him, happy to see that he was accepting my words, Damon's words.

"Then don't." shrugged the raven vampire like it was so easy, and it was, Stefan just needed to believe in himself.

After a brief silence, the said vampire let out a long breath and nodded. In an instance, Damon was gone and then back with the assistant I told them about.

"It's too early for you to drink from the source, but you could..." started the older brother, as he took a glass and sliced the wrist of the compelled human. Stefan stood there rigid as he observed the whole action and I stayed silent, waiting to see how it all played out.

When the mentioned glass was full, Damon compelled the girl to forget everything and to rest for the entire day. While doing so, none of us missed how Stefan's eyes never left the blood in Damon's hand. When she was gone, the blue eyed man stepped next to his brother and let him take the glass. Stefan pulled it towards his lips and I saw his face transforming. Eyes turning black, veins appearing beneath them and fangs extending from his mouth.

Then he took the first sip.

I was expecting him to gulped the liquid at once, but whatever Damon was whispering in his ear, was making him stay in control and slowly sip from the contents in the glass.

I was amazed.

Not because Stefan was actually controlling himself. I had no doubt he would make it.

No.

It was because of why he was doing it.

One word – Damon.

For fuck sake! This is what I was talking about from the first moment I saw them! This is how brothers should be with one another! They were supporting each other, they trusted each other! It was magical to see it first hand, as such a close relationship was never developed in the series.

I was stoked.

And proud. So, so proud!

Don't know when it happened, how exactly or why, but I was grateful, I was happy for them and I had to hold back the squeal … or the tears. Whichever wanted to burst out first.

And do you know what else? It looked like it wasn't the first time something like this had happened. Those sorority parties must be magical!

When that was over and Stefan was breathing normally and when I was sure he would not go straight for my neck I skipped over to him and hugged the daylights out of him. Then I did the same with Damon.

So proud!

Even if Damon waved me off amused and Stefan was more or less embarrassed I still couldn't hold back my grin.

"So if you two are okay with it we should be going." I stated and Stefan nodded, smiling a bit. Damon did the compulsion trick and just before we were about to exit my eyes caught something interesting.

"1938 Underwood Champion." I whispered. The Salvatores stopped in their tracks turning to see what I was mumbling about.

"What?" Asked a confused Stefan as he saw me running back into the room.

"This is 1938 Underwood Champion typewriter, Elena has talked my ears off gushing how it's her dream to have one of those. She can't stop talking about it and showing pictures, saying that they are very hard to find, by now I could recognize one anywhere." and yes I was awed, not because I gave a shit about the machine but because of the prospect of the doppelganger shutting up about it, if she got one.

I seriously might be hearing angels singing in the back of my mind.

Yep, totally…

"Yeah, you are totally stealing that, aren't you?" Damon who was sporting an amused smirk, leaning on the door read my thoughts . Stefan had stepped in and I was about to start justifying my actions when the said vampire waved me off and took the machine.

Was...was Stefan taking part in a crime? Him?

Damon faked being outraged.

"We broke him, Adelle!" he gasped and I played along.

"Who are you and what did you do with Stefan?" I asked him and the vampire rolled his eyes, even if a second later he was chuckling too.

"Let's go already." he said and I nodded eagerly, skipping over after the two of them.

Today was such a strange day…

I loved it!

* * *

On our way back to Mystic Falls, we made two stops. The first one was to develop the photos of Caroline's journalist and transfer the video on a disk.

The second one was to get food.

So… we were late. And by late, I mean we missed the whole thing.

I had texted both Elena and Caroline a few times that there was a reason for our absence and it was all about their gifts so in the end I knew that they wouldn't be too angry.

Surprisingly, Damon and Stefan were still with me even after I had to go back to the Gilbert's house, where I placed the typewriter in Elena's bedroom, plastering a bow on top of it and a photo of her writing in her journal, which she didn't know I had taken. Then I changed my dress, a simple black one, that ended before reaching my knees. I had put my hair in a messy ponytail and did not need to redo my make up, that was still fine, I just added a red burgundy lipstick and some jewellery.

When I went downstairs I was surprised to find both Salvatore's waiting for me, now changed into formal black suits. And they both looked dashingly mouth watering. I had put on high heels too, so now I was a bit taller. I smiled shyly at them and gratefully took both of their hands, which they had extended in my direction. Damon was smirking like usual, complimenting me on my dress, while Stefan had this affectionate smile on and kissed my cheek, while saying that I looked beautiful.

Okay, I was totally not used to this kind of attention. It was hard taking it from one of the Salvatores, but two? My head was spinning.

Call me strange, but it felt somehow...right to be between them. Not sure in what way, either. But do you know this feeling, when you find yourself somewhere and you feel...content, happy? That's what was happening to me too.

That's how I showed up at the party after the coronation of the new Miss Mystic Falls, in one hand with Damon Salvatore and in the other with Stefan Salvatore.

Let's say that got everyone's attention.

Did any of us care? Not in the least, Damon even looked amused, while Stefan looked relaxed. I was too happy for my blond friend that was shining with the crown on her head.

"Congrats, Care, you deserve it!" I grinned at her, after the initial screeching and hugging...and jumping that she pulled me into doing.

"Thank you! Thank you! I am so happy! But you missed it all! And then you came with the Salvatores! What is all of that about!?" she asked and I just shrugged.

"Well, they assisted me with something, here you go, Care, this is my congratulation gift for you." I smiled gently at her. When the blond opened the packet a scream filled the entire ballroom.

"Oh my God! Oh my God! Oh my God! Oh my God! How!? When? What? THANK YOU! Oh my God! Oh my God!" that continued for some time even when Elena and Bonnie came to see us. Caroline was so excited that she didn't wait and found a laptop from somewhere to see what was on the disk.

Cue the tears.

That was around the time when Stefan and Damon bailed out on me. Till now they both would have been around me, Stefan being the composed one like always, smiling politely at everyone that spoke to him, while Damon being sarcastic and flirting left and right with everybody. But after a while, I didn't see either of them. I was going to get worried, but the older brother sent me a text explaining that Stefan got too jumpy and needed to feed.

"How did you do it, Addie?" asked Elena as she and Bonnie stood next to me while we observed the blond showing the video to her mother.

"Guess." I grinned.

"Stefan and Damon helped you?" asked a surprised witch and after I nodded she looked even more unbelieving.

"I don't know how you do it, Ad." Elena shook her head, but surprisingly she wasn't upset. Maybe it was because Damon was acting a lot better than in the original series so she didn't hate him...that much.

"Sorry that you didn't win, Lena." I turned to her but she waved me off.

"Don't, Caroline deserved it." I nodded. "So? What do I get?" she asked cheekily making me and Bonnie laugh.

"It's waiting for you in your bedroom." I smirked at her and I knew she was about to say something more but then Jenna, Alaric, Jeremy and Caroline came to us and she didn't have the chance.

Heh!

When it was over, Elena went straight to the house, followed by her aunt and brother. Caroline was going to celebrate with her boyfriend, Matt. I went out with the witch to catch up with her and her magic and see how things were going with the boy we met at the vegan shop. In other words...we gossiped around for few hours.

We had been both busy lately with different things and didn't see much of each other apart from school. Now Bonnie got the chance to tell me how fast she was advancing with her magic and spells. Her Grams was helping her a lot and they were spending a lot of time together. It was nice to hear that, because the girl deserved to have her grandma at her side. And it was visible that the younger witch was gaining confidence and was actually happy...because this time she didn't have to deal with angry Damon and the loss of a family.

The boy from the cafe, was still in the picture too. I had known that they were going out on few dates and from what she told me, he was treating her very well and was head over heels for the witch. Bonnie on the other hand felt good being with him and was seeing a future with him, where she could tell him her secret. I know! I was surprised too! But it was good, in the show the Bennett needed more male attention and she was getting it now.

Just as I was about to part with Bonnie I got a message from Elena.

 _'I have no words to say how much I love you, sis. Thank you. - Lena.'_ and there was a photo attached to it of her taking a selfie with the typewriter next to her. And she was grinning like a maniac. Haven't seen her so happy.

In other words I was awesome at choosing... stealing...compelling...whatever... gifts for everyone!

Duh.

* * *

I just turned the corner of our street when I saw a figure in the driveway of the Gilbert's house. And just like that when I came closer I saw none other than John Gilbert himself.

Well shit, he looked furious.

When I stopped my car, he was already looking at me. Taking a deep breath I got out and was bombarded by the Uncle slash Father of the Gilbert's with questions.

"Adelle! Are you okay? What is happening, no one has picked their phone and I have been calling all day!" he exclaimed and to his credit the guy really did look worried. What he was forgetting was that no one from the family liked him and they were purposely ignoring him. I stepped back, casually opening my trunk and forced a smile on my face.

Even if all I wanted was to glare at him.

What could I say? He was one of my least favorite people in the show.

"Uncle John, you won't believe it." I said and beckoned him to look down at the said trunk.

"What is it? Do you know how much you scared me, Adelle?" he exclaimed as he stepped next to me.

I didn't answer because before he knew it I had pulled out my taser from my bag and shocked him till he was unconscious.

Thankfully the idiot was close to my car so I had no trouble pushing the rest of his body in and closing it. I felt like a total gangster in this moment. And it was official, my taser's name was John.

Heh.

Then I heard someone choke, gasping and spluttering.

Looking up I was met with the sight of Jeremy, the poor boy was holding the trash bag, probably made by Jenna to throw it out.. He was looking like air wasn't reaching his brain and his eyes were a second away from popping from his sockets. His free hand was pointing from me to the taser then to the closed trunk and back again to me.

Over and over again.

His mouth was hanging open gaping like a fish. It was hilarious.

So I snorted.

And that was what made him snap out of it.

"Did you..did you...just taser uncle John? Wha...what the hell is up with you! I know you are happy about about the taser, but could you just for-for a moment control yourself and..and ...NOT TASER A FAMILY MEMBER?" he was completely in shock.

It was just his luck to always see me in these exact moments.

Ehh..

"Jeremy, calm down..." I tried but the kid wasn't listening, he came to me, opening the trunk once again, gaping at the unconscious relative laying in his big sister's car.

Then the shock took over once more and he was pointing at the body, then me and then the taser.

People would think he would get used to this by now…

Tche..

"What were you thinking?" he finally found his voice even if it was high a bit like a girl. Was he turning green or I was imagining it…?

"Get in the car, I will tell you everything." I ordered more or less and surprisingly he followed me.

Once on the road he turned to me, pointing a finger at my face, eyes narrowed.

"You. Explain!"

"When I parked my car I overheard John talking with someone about killing all the vampires in town. Which if you haven't forgotten are Damon and Stefan. Then he mentioned Isobel..."

"Isobel...like Isobel, the mother of Elena and the ex wife of Alaric?"

"Yes. He was talking with her and I didn't like what they were planning." I kept on lying. But then again it was half true, I just knew what was going on and I didn't found out from overhearing my fake uncle on the phone.

Good thing the brat didn't have to know about it.

"Okay...okay." tried to think the teenager and I held back an eye roll. "So you what? Decided to taser him? Like, couldn't you..." I interrupted him.

"We both know what a pain in the ass John is, no one likes him, how can we trust him with something like that? And if I am not mistaken, he is in the council and hates vampires. I couldn't risk it." I spared him a pointed look. Jeremy looked overwhelmed, shaking his head a few times.

"But...but..."

"I am not risking my friends safety just because of courtesy, Jeremy." I glared at him.

After a moment of silence he nodded, accepting my words.

"So now what?"

"We take him to Damon and Stefan, they lock him in the basement, we wait till the vervain leaves his system and we compel the shit out of him. Maybe we will know where Isobel is or how to get to her." I said just before seeing the outline of the vampires home.

"Okay, that's….that's actually a good idea. No one else saw him." I scoffed, why does he sound so surprised by my awesomeness?

Whatever!

Parking the car, I went straight in the house, finding both brothers in the parlor.

"Adelle? What is..." started Stefan looking surprised and a bit worried.

"I need you to compel someone for me." I said repeating my words from this afternoon, but this time in a totally different context.

"Do tell, what is this all about?" smirked Damon but it quickly slid of when Jeremy came running after me, looking all scared and panicked.

"Did you tell them?" he asked.

"He knows?" Damon asked right back.

I waved my hands!

"No time for this! Come with me."

And they did, both vampires followed me and Jeremy till we reached my car.

"What is it, Adelle? Has some...thing…." Stefan started to ask, but then he went completely silent when I opened the trunk and there laid the still unconscious man.

"Well...look at that..." mumbled Damon, staring in surprise at the probably last thing he expected to find in my car.

Then the body started to move, Jeremy shrieked, so without thinking I just pulled out the taser and quickly electrified my uncle once more.

It was a reflex! Sue me!

Both vampires stared at me flabbergasted.

Jeremy groaned loudly, waving his hands around in disbelieve.

"Could you stop _tasering people for one second_?!"


	9. Chapter 9

Disclaimer

I do not own Vampire Diaries. The O.C. is my only original character.

This story will follow the series to some extend, there will be a lot of changes and you will find a partial O.O.C. here.

It will be rated **[M]** for future chapters and yes it will be a **Menage love story/P** **olygamous relationship** , if you don't like please don't read.

I welcome constructive criticism and if you would like to help me with that, please write me a P.M.

Big thanks to my Betaa - _AOHAD_ for correcting this chapter! ^w^

 **[!]** Comments. Follows. Any kind of support is highly appreciated. No kidding, it does give the motivation to update faster!

* * *

Chapter 9

"Sorry, while you were screaming like a girl, I took action, Jeremy!" I answered back and we both got ourselves into a stare contest.

"Mind sharing with the rest of us, who is that?" asked Damon, shrugging in the direction of my trunk, while Stefan's eyes carefully looked at the taser I still had in my hand.

"This is our uncle, John Gilbert." elaborated Jer and I rolled my eyes at the once again stunned faces of the vampires.

"I can feel the family love you were talking about, Adelle." said sarcastically the raven haired brother.

"Oh, stop it, no one likes him anyway." I waved off and Stefan choked a bit, don't know if from surprise or from stopping himself from laughing.

"Is...is that a good enough reason to...electrify him, Addie?" questioned next the ex-Ripper.

Sighing loudly I was about to start rambling when the youngest Gilbert snorted.

"Please, no one is safe around Ad with a weapon." my eyes enlarged from the betrayal of the brat.

"And how did you find out about that?" narrowed his blue orbs Damon and Stefan threw him a serious look to keep himself in check, because he was one way or another, threatening my 'brother.'

"Elena fessed up."

"Elena told us everything."

Both of us answered in unison and I hissed at him, while he glared back, not liking the freaky thing that just occurred.

"Wait...what do you mean us?" asked Stefan, and I had to roll my eyes at the annoyed look he sent me as I just realized that...I might have left out this piece of information.

Ooops?

"She told Jenna as well."

"She told Jenna too."

Really! I waved my hands, ready to explode, don't copy me! I did not miss how as I lifted the hand holding the taser, all three of them stepped back. Huh. Funny.

Jeremy groaned and we both turned towards each other.

"Stop it!" I almost growled.

"Don't kid yourself, sis, I like it as much as you do!" the brat fired back and ooh boy he was going to get it!

"Both of you 'stop it'." pitched in Damon as he made his voice sound a lot higher and like a girl, making me even more annoyed. He saw it and winked at me, I was steps away from saying something but, Stefan stepped in, like the voice of reason, I have known him to be in the series.

"What's going on, Adelle?" he asked seriously and I let out a sigh, knowing it was time to cut to the real reason as to why we were all here.

"I might or might not have joked with John and he might or might not have taken it a tad bit more serious then what it was meant to be..."

"She sent him a text saying that she was bleeding and he needed to come back." tattled me out the soon to be ex-brother, if he kept it up, who totally ignored the stinky eye I was sending his way.

Tche.

My brow twitched.

"What? Why would you…?" the younger Salvatore shook his head not understanding, but thankfully Damon waved both of them off and turned his attention back on me, lazily leaning on my car, like there wasn't a body next to him.

"Skip to the part in which you decide to knock him out, please." I rolled my eyes, geez there was no need for so much sarcasm.

"I just got home, when I saw him there and he was talking on the phone saying that he knew about you two, and was promising to get rid of the vampires in town. He might...he might as well have been speaking with Isobel." I cringed back just now realizing that my idea might have a big problem.

Those two, stubborn vampires, will want to speak with the uncle when he wakes up and they most probably will tell him what I 'heard' and the annoying hunter would spill that there was no such thing.

Yeah, they would probably not believe him, but I could never be 100% sure. So I couldn't risk it.

I had to be around the oldest Gilbert till they could compel him and ask questions that would not incriminate me.

Ugh...

Oh...I completely forgot for a moment the situation I was in. And yes, after I told everyone what 'happened' it was easy to guess that they were surprised again.

"How would he know?" asked Damon.

"Isobel...as Elena's mother?" asked Stefan.

I shrugged then nodded, from afar someone would say I was having a seizure.

"Everyone is drinking vervain, Damon, stop it." I added when I saw how he was throwing glares at Jeremy, most certainly thinking of a way to wipe his memories as well as Jenna's. The said brat had come closer to me and even if he was...relaxed, he was still suspiciously staring at the brothers.

"Whatever." made a face, the older Salvatore. "So what? You decided to tase him and then what?" he the continued.

"Yes, I panicked, I couldn't let him hurt you and I never trusted him, so this was me making a decision in the heat of the the moment. I brought him here because I thought we could lock him in your basement, till the vervain he has in his system is gone and then one of you could compel him to tell us everything." I proposed. Stefan had a thoughtful look, while Damon looked down at the unconscious body, probably searching for vervain laced jewelry.

"Don't...don't you think that this is extreme, Adelle?" asked Stefan as he regarded me with concern.

"No." I glared at him, which visibly surprised him. "I am not risking your safety!" I then looked at Damon too. He was watching in disbelief.

"He is..." continued the younger brother but I had enough.

"Stop it! I know what I am doing, you might think he is just a mere human and could not do any real damage to you, but John is in the council and he could easily expose you both and let's not forget that he is working with Isobel, who we have no idea how deeply is involved in all of this. There is too much unknown things and I am not risking any of you, just because I share blood with him!" I said, my voice hard and I was so serious that everyone had no other choice but to hear what I was saying.

And they did, all three of them. Most of all the Salvatores. It was obvious that my words had shocked them, probably not expecting such protectiveness from me towards them.

Well, they better get used to it, if only they knew everything…

"Then let's kill him, it's that easy." finally said a word Damon, after there was a brief silence.

"What? No!" chocked Jeremy, glaring at the man, who glared right back at the kid. "He is our uncle!"

"Do you think I care?" bit back the vampire, who looked more and more annoyed with the boy.

"Adelle is right, before we do anything rash...more than now," he spared me a look, to which I grinned cheekily, knowing that he was referring to my awesome tasering skills. "We should find out what he knows, and if Damon is right..."

"Wait?" I stopped him, confused. "Right about what?" the brothers spared each other a look. Oh, come on! I hate being left out of the loop….

Yes, no need to say it…

Hypocrite. I know.

Whatever.

"I think that Katherine sent Isobel to me, so I could turn her." oh...I already knew that. Heh.

Ignoring the surprised sound that came out of the little Gilbert, I pretended to look amazed.

"What? Why?" okay, I needed to work on that. But it seemed like no one saw right through me. Nice.

"To make fun of me. For her own sadistic reasons, the hell if I know." shook his head the raven haired man and I didn't miss the brief flash of hurt in his eyes.

No matter what, he would feel the betrayal for a long time.

I looked at Stefan, who was staring at his brother with concern, but then he composed himself, probably knowing that Damon hated pity.

"The only way to find out, is to wait till…." okay, I didn't know how long it took for the vervain to get out of his system.

"Two days." said Damon, while Stefan nodded.

"We have to keep him locked for two days." the younger added.

Well, I expected longer, this wasn't so bad.

Later when John's body was locked in the basement, Jeremy was sent back home to think of an excuse for my tardiness, the rest of us, stood in the parlor. I seriously wanted to go home, but I wasn't sure of how I should proceed with John.

"Your dear uncle just woke up." said Damon sarcastically from where he stood watching the fire dancing in the fireplace.

"I...I will bring him food and all of that, so don't feel the need to even speak with him." I threw out there, feeling stupid for a moment, because DUH, Ad, it was highly unlikely for either of them to show such hospitality to the man who wanted to kill them…

"Wasn't planning on doing that." he rolled his eyes.

I started to descend the stairs, but was stopped by Stefan.

"Where are you going?"

"I need to speak with him for a moment, to tell him where he is and why we are keeping him there, it might shut him up for at least a while." I hope.

The vampire nodded, a bit unsure and he followed me, as I went down towards the familiar cell.

"Adelle? What did you do!?" shouted John from the other side, holding onto the bars on the door, his body still weak from the electricity that went through it...twice. The man was angry, confused and even disgusted when he saw the vampire standing so close to me, probably realizing, that he had been played.

"What are you doing with them, Adelle? Don't you see what monsters they are? Are you stupid? Compelled? How could you do this?" he kept on shouting, rattling, or at least trying to rattle the door. Stupid.

"I will not let you hurt anyone I care for, John." I said curtly, succeeding in making him freeze.

"How..." I didn't let him finish.

"I know, John, and I plan on finding out the whole truth, when you the vervain ids out of your system we will..." he shook his head, glaring, spitting profanities, the man was ready to combust.

Nothing was left from the overconfident cunning man that played everyone in the show. He was no longer in advantage.

"No! No! I WON'T...I won't let you!" he was hissing, growling, shaking. "How can you betray us, Adelle! Don't you see in what danger you are putting everyone by even talking with those...abominations!?" he spit out and I felt Stefan tensing next to me.

I was fully glaring at the man in the cell.

"Don't you dare talk to them like that, John, you have no idea how far from the truth you are and you can stop right now with the manipulations and the provoking, or Damon will have no problem in snapping your neck. You are lucky you are still breathing." I answered him, my voice steady, laced with coldness.

The Gilbert smirked, then laughed.

"Yeah? He will kill me?" he taunted, the sinister man from the series coming back. "Let him do it, I am not afraid."

It was my time to laugh. Stefan who was surprised by the outburst of the human, was now looking at me too, probably not understanding what was so funny about what he said. My reaction made John, stop smirking too, he was staring at me suspiciously while glaring at the vampire. When I finally composed myself, I took out the things I had in the pocket of my jacket, lifting them so both could see them.

Actually three, as I noticed Damon had stepped in, leaning on the wall, observing with a murderous glint in his blue eyes.

There was a gasp next.

It came from John.

He saw what everyone saw. I was holding three things. His phone. His vervain bracelet. And most importantly, his resurrecting ring.

His body was still as a statue, finally realizing that he was completely at our mercy, not knowing that I was the only one aware of the ring's powers. And if before the Gilbert's uncle was only glaring with disgust at Stefan and Damon, now this look was towards me as well.

Good.

It was about damn time.

"You are a disappointment for the family, Adelle." was the only thing he said and I felt the coldness and hatred he laced those words with.

"Things have changed, John and if protecting the ones I care for, means betraying your old disgusting believes then so be it. But then that means everyone else in the family should be the same as me." his eyes enlarged. "Because they all know and they still don't care."

"What…? No..." I waved him off, already done with this conversation.

"Behave, John, you don't want to anger these 'creatures', don't you?" I spat, glaring full force at the hateful man, my own hatred for him getting bigger as I remembered all of the times he considered the Salvatore's monsters, all of the shit he pulled while staying in Mystic Falls.

Then I turned around and stalked past the brothers, ignoring the shouts of the disgusting man in the cell, wanting nothing more than to just get the hell away from his pathetically closed mind.

"Are you okay?" asked Stefan.

Turning around I saw him standing near me, concern written all over his face.

"I am sorry for what he said." I answered.

"His loss really, who would ever decline being in my presence?" came up Damon, holding a smirk and waving his hands towards his body.

I laughed. Deciding to play along, thanking silently both of them, for making this easier.

"I know! He must be blind." Shaking my head dramatically I said. Stefan chuckled a bit, amused by our antics.

"His phone..." started the younger brother.

I knew why he was mentioning it.

"I checked." and it was the truth. "He has the phone of Isobel, but I thought it would be better if we waited till we knew what was going on for sure, before we contacted her?"

I was playing with Damon's restraint, I knew it. He wanted to know the entire truth, I could see that he was physically stopping himself from taking the said device and getting to Isobel, who one way or another would tell him about Katherine.

I didn't know why he wanted to know. Was he still in love with her? Or was he only looking for answers?

The only thing I found myself believing was that no matter how much he desired it, he wasn't taking the phone from me. He was actually listening to what I have proposed and was agreeing along with his brother.

And that, was one hell of an achievement.

* * *

The next morning I woke up early, more than usual and when I looked myself in the mirror I wasn't surprised to see dark circles under my eyes. What else was I supposed to do, but to conceal them and get along with my day?

Since the day I found myself here, I did not have a single night where I would sleep contently without waking up. The most I could sleep were five hours and that's it. I didn't have nightmares per say, but it was hard to fall asleep, to find a comfortable place or just to relax. That was the reason I woke up nonstop and then forced myself to doze off again.

It was torture. But I was slowly getting used to it.

I had no other choice.

Today, the school was closed for some reason, something about changing the water pipes or whatever, so I had enough time, to do what I have planned.

First, after getting dressed, I went to Jeremy's bedroom and took his phone. I was still annoyed with him and I must confess I was feeling a bit sadistic. So I had no problem with messing with him. I changed his operating language from English to Arabic, not before putting a photo him drooling as he slept as his phone wallpaper. Oh, and I messed with his ring tones.

Let's see how will he react to it.

After that I made breakfast. Knowing that it was too early to go and disturb Ric, who I was going to visit with Elena, and no she didn't know about that yet, I took my camera and went straight to Sheila's house.

Yeah, you heard right.

Knocking on her door I didn't wait too much as the witch soon appeared. She looked surprised to see me but at least there was no animosity towards me.

"The girl that spends her time with vampires. I am surprised that you are still alive and just now coming to see me." she greeted me and I could only shrug because...well what could I say to her exactly?

Without her knowledge I had activated the recorder on my camera, which was hidden in my bag, so whatever we said would be heard and saved there.

"Can we talk?" I got to business, deciding that yes I had nothing against the woman, but she wasn't of any importance to me. Bonnie worshipped her, and she was full of knowledge, those were the only reasons as to why she was still breathing.

The oldest Bennett let me in and made tea, while I got comfortable in her small living room. To be fair her house was nice, full with stuff that littered the walls…just like my own grandma's home. It was cozy and I had no problem with sinking in a few small squishy pillows.

When she came back, the witch took her place, but opposite of me, she stood tall, even when seated, which told me easily that she wasn't letting her guard down in my company. I wasn't sure if I should take offense of it, or be flattered.

"With what exactly do you think I could help you, Adelle? Ask carefully, because I will refuse to answer anything if it benefits your new...friends." and here is another reason I wasn't so fond of her, in the series the woman died fast, but even for the short amount of time I saw her there, it was obvious that she was far from accepting being on good terms with 'the monsters that tipped off the balance in nature.'

Too bad.

If she wanted to live longer, then she would have to learn to cooperate. I wasn't risking the lives of the people I care, just because of her closed minded thinking.

"I need information." I finally said, after slowly sipping from the cup she gave me, and ding ding no surprise there, it was laced with vervain.

Witches.

Tch.

She thought I was being compelled or something. But then Bonnie must be keeping her up to date with what is going on around town, so she knows very well that this is not the case. The only other option is that she is doing it to...protect me…

Oh…

I can work with that.

"Do you? What is it about, exactly?" she asked right back.

"I was wondering, if there are witches and vampires, then there might be other supernatural creatures too?" her body tensed up for a moment. "I am aware of your vast knowledge from all those years and I think that if someone does know something, then it must be you." she regarded me quietly for a second.

"What made you come up with that?" I shrugged, considering my options, which lie should I feed her.

"Well, firstly, it is a valid question, I am not so close minded to think that it's only what I see that exists. Just because I never met or heard about...other supernaturals, it doesn't mean that they can't be real." I told the woman in front of me and then waited.

"Is that all?"

"No." I answered immediately. "I am asking because I know that knowledge is power and in a world where I am just a human, I need to have all the advantages I can get. It's been the only way that till now I haven't found myself being the damsel in distress." the witch chuckled a little, my words somehow making her relax a bit.

"You are right, there are other creatures lurking around the world." Sheila finally said and I couldn't help myself but lean towards her, hoping silently that she would give this information without much fight.

You see what my plan is now? In the TV show, Sheila died too fast and that cut the characters away from someone that could provide them with a lot of inside information about a lot of the problems they were going to face. That same information would have prevented a lot of shit from happening. And to be honest I was sick of waiting for the gang to find out about the Lockwoods so far in the future.

"I am going to tell you, Adelle, because you are very important to Bonnie and you helped her numerous times, despite your association with the vampires. And I already know you are going to tell them about this, so warn them please, to not disturb me, about anything, or they will find themselves burning in the sun." threatened the witch and I held back the eye roll.

Such confidence this one had. If she only knew that I had the ultimate knowledge, then how would she react?

Tch.

"That's fine by me." I waved off waiting for her to finally start. Taking a long sip from her tea, the Bennett told me all that she knew.

"There are werewolves. Not many have seen them, because those supernaturals aren't a lot and are spread around the world." I stayed silent, not bothering in playing shocked. "The wolves are most of the time in packs and to become one, you have to be born one. The transition happens when the human with the gene kills an innocent. Then every full moon they lose control and transform in wolves that are no longer humans but hunters that hunt for their enemies."

"Vampires." I said, without knowing. Sheila stopped for a moment, looked at me and then slowly nodded.

"From what I know the turning is painful, it breaks all of their bones." she continued.

"How bad are they?" I asked.

"Apart from the full moon, those people have no powers, yes they are a lot stronger than humans but they don't have anything else. The werewolves become dangerous when they are in their full form, their bite is poisonous. For vampires."

"Is there a cure?"

"No. Once bitten, the vampire is as good as dead. Maybe that's why there are so few of their kind. They were hunted and killed." the witch explained.

"How does one kill a werewolf?" I asked and hoped that she would tell me, because I just didn't want a repeat with the silver knife, Damon and Mason. Here right now I was trying to prevent the whole disaster that was going to happen between them and then the pack looking for revenge.

"In human form, they die just like normal people. In wolf form you need to take the heart out or snap their necks." she told me and I let out a long sigh, because the woman was making things a lot easier, for me.

"Are they affected by vervain?" I then posed my question. She shook her head.

"No, and they can't be compelled either." yeah, don't I know about that…

"Silver?" she chuckled.

"The same effect like holy water and crosses for vampires." she quipped amused. Well, sorry, but it should be known!

"How can I know if I have met a werewolf?"

"You can't, witches can sense them, but that's it, if they don't tell you, or you don't see them transform in front of you, then there is no way of knowing." I looked at my watch and saw that I needed to hurry up and go soon.

"Can you sense them?" I asked and she nodded. "What about Bonnie?" there she paused.

"Bonnie is getting more and more powerful every day but she is not so experienced to be able to do that and there is the fact that she doesn't know about them too."

"Why keep that from her?" I asked letting my annoyance slip a bit and thus making the witch opposite of me narrow her eyes.

"I don't like being questioned in the way I teach my own granddaughter, Adelle." I held back a snappy retort. "But as you now know about this, I think that it is the time for Bonnie to find out too. I will ask you to not say anything to her, I prefer being the one baring those news." I nodded. Fine by me.

"Do you know if there are werewolves in Mystic Falls?" I decided to ask my final question before I leave. I noticed how she paused then and I knew that whatever came out of her mouth it was going to be a lie.

"There are no werewolves here."

Ding ding!

We have a lie.

Shame I couldn't catch her on it. But then again I understood that she did it to protect the Lockwoods, it was almost certain that Damon would have no problem of getting rid of them. And let's be real, in formality, there are no werewolves in town. Nor the Mayor or Tyler have completed the curse. So what Sheila said wasn't exactly a lie.

Sneaky woman!

After that I thanked her, prepared my things and was sent out with the parting words of -

"I hope you know what you are doing, Adelle."

* * *

My next stop was the boarding house.

I had knocked few times but no one answered. Waiting a bit more, I let myself in, as the front door wasn't locked.

"Stefan?" I asked, not really too loud, because….duh they had super hearing. "Damon?"

Silence.

Oh, well, I must have missed them. But then again, where were they? What about John?

Quickly I made my way to the basement, almost running, because let's be honest all of this didn't happen in the show, so I had no real idea of what could go wrong now.

I let out a breath, when I saw 'my uncle' sitting on the makeshift bed in his cell, head burrowed in his hands. He definitely didn't look comfortable. The vampire hater noticed me almost immediately.

"Adelle?" I didn't say anything as I silently took the food I brought and the water bottle from my bag. I pushed them through the bars of the window and they clanked hitting the floor. I was smart enough to put the sandwiches in plastic container. "Does Elena and Jenna know what you are doing to me?" growled the man as he observed my actions, getting angrier with each passing second at my nonchalance about it.

They didn't know. Jeremy and I decided that we will tell them when we have compelled John and knew everything. The youngest Gilbert was the one to propose the idea even. But I wasn't feeling talkative today, so I completely ignored the doppelganger's biological father and made my way towards the first floor.

"Adelle! Adelle! Come back here!"

It was so easy to not care about the man I was leaving behind.

When I was finally upstairs, I strolled in the living area and saw that I had no time to stay and wait for the brothers that were who knows where. Taking out my camera I left it on the table in the center and wrote a message on a sticky note I brought with me, placing it on Luca.

 _'Play me. ;* ;*'_

And yes, I totally did left kissy faces in the end.

* * *

After that I made my way back to the Gilbert's house.

Jenna's car wasn't there, so she must have gone to her college classes, which left me with the two sleeping teenagers.

Casually I went to Elena's bedroom, she was still sleeping, so I as any sister ever, jumped on her bed, not caring if I fell on her or not.

"Oh! Ah! Whah..?" asked confused the doppelganger and when she saw what disturbed her sleep she glared down at me, as I laid there next to her. Not really giving a crap about it.

"Good morning!" I chirped fully aware that it annoyed her greatly. The girl sighed and flopped back next to me, turning a bit in my direction so she could look at me.

"Did you have to wake me up like that?" I grinned.

"Yep!"

"It's our day off, Addie." her brown eyes looked at the clock on her wall, making her chock. "It's too early! Barely past eight! Why..?" I let out a groan.

It's been a while since the last time I was really alone with Elena, speaking about something other than the Salvatore brothers or her mother. I was realizing that unconsciously I had been avoiding her. One way or another.

I had nothing against her, per say, but I felt like I didn't want to drag her in the middle of what was going on. Yes, she knew almost all about it, but that didn't mean she had to be there whenever something was about to go down. The last time she did, all went disastrous in the show.

So no thank you.

And to be honest, I wasn't feeling like hearing her nonstop pestering about me and her spending more sisterly time together. Somehow just the thought of us two having a good time, was making me feel like a traitor, like I was betraying my own _real_ sister.

Thus, I avoided her.

Not my fault that she was always asking to do something when she saw me alone! Yeah she viewed me like her little sis and felt the need to be around me...or whatever, it was normal.

But I just couldn't do it. Not when I could spend said time looking for a way to get my real family back.

So I acted like an ass.

I avoided her.

I came up with excuses.

Maybe that was the reason why, said girl was looking so happy right now. As we laid down on her bed silently, it was in reality the longest time we had spent together for quite some time.

"So what's up?" asked Elena, cutting the surprisingly comfortable moment.

"I woke up early, and decided to go for a walk with Beluga. Wanna come with me?" I said in return.

"Oh...oh! Yes, of course! Just...just give me ten minutes to get ready."

And then she jumped from the bed. And I did not miss how giddy she was about what I proposed and how poorly she tried to hide it from me.

I decided to lay there, waiting for her. And while doing so I could have a better look of what she had in her room. It was pretty cool, actually, I liked the bench under her window, where she would write in her diary. Observing my surroundings, I noticed the family journals stacked on her desk.

"I thought that Jeremy kept them?" I asked succeeding in stopping the doppelganger for a second. She followed my gaze and understood what I was talking about.

"Yeah, they were with him, but then I wanted to read them too. To see what our ancestors were like." Elena elaborated and I nodded. "Where is Beluga by the way?"

And as if on cue said fluffy ball came in running through the door. The Samoyed had become a lot bigger, it still had a lot to grow, but the puppy was no longer little either. He barked happily at Elena, wiggling its tail and then ran to me, jumping with ease on the bed. I laughed a bit at its excitement and energy and started to scratch his back, as he laid on top of my stomach.

As soon as Elena was ready, we went out. First we walked to the park that was not so far away from us. I was actually having a good time with the doppelganger. We talked about mundane things, her work, school, Isobel. I was already aware of all of it, but I let her talk and share, knowing it would make her feel better and consider us closer.

Then we played with Beluga, throwing a ball, I brought with us, as the dog ran to catch it. It was fun. Normally when I walked the pup, I was engrossed in my own world, planning, scheming, thinking.

Now?

Now I thought about nothing and it felt good.

"Where are we going?" asked Elena as she saw we were not going back at the Gilbert's house.

"To see Ric." I quipped and watched amused as the girl next to me looked very confused.

"Alaric?" I nodded. "Why?"

"Oh...I have been visiting him every morning. Do you know that he eats only junk food? Can you imagine? When I found out, I decided that he needed something healthy, so I got him some of the breakfast I made back at the house." Elena watched me amazed, not knowing any of it. "It became somewhat of a routine. I make food for all of us, then take Beluga for a walk and then go see Ric, forcing him to eat something that is good for him." I winked and held back the snicker as the brown haired girl looked even more surprised.

"How often do you do that?"

"Oh. Every morning." I waved off.

"So you...you choose to eat with him? Why don't you have breakfast with us, Addie?" was I detecting jealousy?

What the…?

"Well, I wake up early and when I am done, you are all still sleeping. Ric is the same..."

"You could wake us up, you could wake _me_ up!" she exclaimed and her voice got a tad bit louder and higher.

Okay...was I missing something?

"Why do you look so angry, Elena?" I asked slowly, trying to understand. The doppelganger huffed.

"Because! Adelle, I want to eat with you, I want to spend more time with my little sister, but that is proving to be a hard task, when most of the time I have no idea what she is up to and the other half she is either spending it with Stefan and Damon, or from what I find now – with our history teacher!" I rolled my eyes.

"This history teacher is your step-father, Elena." that shut her up. The girl looked away and even if she knew I was right, I was aware that she too had a point.

"You have to understand, Lena, Ric doesn't have anyone. He is all alone and after finding out about Isobel...he..."she interrupted me.

"He needs a friend, I get it. But I need my sister too, Addie." Elena fired back and I couldn't stop the cringe from appearing on my face.

Okay, she got me there.

"Elena..."

"No. Listen to me. For the past few months I have barely talked with you alone. I have barely spent any time with you, Adelle. Bonnie has been… has been a better sister than you." she paused, sparing me a glance and I fought hard to keep up the mask of calmness.

Even if from the inside her words had hit hard.

"I know that you have been busy...with a lot of things, and you already told me why you are pushing yourself in the middle of something that is not your problem, but you still find time to spend with Jeremy and now Alaric too. Did I do something? Is it me the only one you are...avoiding?"

What the hell should I say to that?

Ugh.

I hated when people were right. And I wasn't. It didn't feel nice at all.

"You haven't done anything, Elena." she didn't believe me.

"Is it...is it because I am not really your sister? I...I..."

Well...shit.

Shit.

I wasn't good at making almost crying people feel better!

'Don't panic, Ad, just...just imagine your sister in Elena's place. What would you say to her?'

"It's nothing of the sort, Lena." I hugged her then, wrapping my hands around the sad girl as she did the same thing almost immediately. I expected it to be more awkward then it was in reality. "You will be always my big sister, no matter what or how stupid I act sometimes. I am sorry for spending more time with Alaric then with you, Elena, that's why I brought you here with me. I wanted to get close to him, so I could bring you two together, I wanted for you two to get to know each other. Ric is amazing guy and we need him in our lives, you need him in your life, Lena." I told her and she silently nodded.

"I know, I see it too. Alaric is… Alaric is good and I feel I would like to get to know him better. Thank you for making that happen, Addie." I shrugged, stepping away from her and smiling a little. At least she was calm now.

"About the other thing."

"I didn't mean to..." I waved her off.

"You are right too, I don't want to make you feel like you can't talk with me, Elena. So from now on, whenever you feel like you want to share something with me...or..." God! Was I really saying that? "If you want to do something, just call me...or barge into my room." I winked, even if I knew I was inviting the girl to get closer to me.

Which I was avoiding. Which made me feel like I was betraying my real sister.

But I had to push those thoughts aside. Because even if I felt guilty for doing it, and my guts twisted, it was the right thing to do. Elena needed her family, I told her that from the beginning. And to her...to everyone else … I was part of that family.

And it wasn't fair, if I was letting Jeremy in, I had to do the same for the other sibling too.

Elena grinned, nodding her head vigorously.

"Okay! Okay! Good!" she then skipped and engulfed me in another more forceful hug. I patted her awkwardly on the back, knowing that my quota for hugging fake siblings for the day had reached its limit.

Thanks to Beluga, who barked, she let me go.

Good boy!

We were close to Alaric's place.

When we reached his apartment, Elena was nervous. My teacher let us in, and things went like normal, if I ignored how awkward they acted around each other at the beginning.

But thanks to me and the Samoyed, soon the atmosphere became a lot more relaxed. After that, we were talking normally, Lena was asking questions about her step-dad, and he did the same, both getting to know one other.

Then my phone rang.

In this town, it was never a good thing. The moment I pick it up, I didn't even get the chance to even say hello.

" _Where are you?_ " Stefan almost growled and I was pretty much shocked into silence. Since when did he start growling? " _Adelle. Where are..._ "

"I'm with Elena at Alaric's apartment." that got the two other people in the room's attention. They spared me a curious look.

" _We will be there._ "

Then he hung up.

Like what the fuck? I was the one ending the calls! Didn't he know that? And what was going on?

Just as I was finished with explaining who called me, there was a knock on the door. A pretty urgent one. The three of us went to see and no surprise there on the other side stood Stefan and Damon, holding my camera and sporting various expressions.

Anger? Check.

Worry? Check.

Annoyance? Check.

Elena was the farthest from us, holding Beluga, who wanted to go and jump Damon, we all ignored his happy barks as Ric still had his hand on the door knob and I was next to him, observing the tense bodies of the two vampires. While Stefan looked like he wanted to start shouting any second now, the raven brother was gripping the camera, slaying it from left to right like a freaking toy.

That's my camera, ass! Be gentle!

"I loved the sticky note, btw." winked Damon as he was smirking at me. I didn't miss that he was almost straining himself to act so nonchalant. His lips twitched a bit from how pissed off he was in reality.

I myself was amused because they could not come in, we all knew it, and we were all well aware of how much they wanted to get to me. Surely I was the first one to leave such an interesting gift for them.

"So it's safe to presume that you heard what was on the tape?" I laughed a bit, as Stefan's eyes narrowed in my direction and when he stepped closer he was blocked by the invisible seal.

Boy, was his mood getting worse, or was I imagining it?!

"What's going on?" asked confused Ric, as he spared a cautious glance at the older brother who rolled his eyes.

"Oh! Lookie here! She didn't tell them either, brother!" he said sarcastically. "Maybe our sweet Adelle was waiting to get her camera back."

Letting out a long sigh I looked at each person present in this slightly dramatic meeting.

So what, they found out about the existence of a new supernatural creature that is deadly for them? It is surely not something to overreact so greatly about?

"I had a talk with Sheila, she as an old witch told me that apart from her kind and the vampires, there are werewolves as well." I finally elaborated. "I recorded the conversation, so I wouldn't need to repeat myself, and went to show it to those grumpy asses over there." I shrugged in the vampire's direction. "They were not in the house, so I left them my Luca in order for them to hear it for themselves."

"Wait? Wolves? Like..." started Elena shocked from hearing what I just said. I nodded.

"You should have called, Adelle. This is not the way to dump something as serious as this on any of us." said Stefan as he took a deep breath, probably trying to calm himself.

Damon snorted.

"It's quite creative for a lazy person that is." I glared at him.

"Hey! You are jealous because you never have thought of doing it!" I fired back narrowing my eyes at his amused ones.

And yeah, I completely ignored how underneath the front, he was so pissed that I was thankful I was in Ric's apartment.

"Bonnie's grandmother? What else did she tell you?" asked Alaric and I rolled my eyes.

"That's why I have the tape! When those two over there stop throwing hissy fits they can give it to you and you can listen to it!" I groaned.

Looking back down at my phone I saw that Tyler had texted me.

' _Wanna hang out? - Ty._ '

'I have a better idea. How about a little road trip? - Ad.' I grinned.

I had another source I wanted to check out, who might know something about my appearance in this universe. I would go, pose my questions and then come back, before the end of the day. So why the hell not bring my bff? The good thing about the future wolf was that he never asked anything that I didn't want to answer. He wasn't so curious or unable to stay out of my business like Elena or Caroline. That made him the perfect companion for the short trip I had planned.

' _Hell yeah! I'll need 20min. - Ty._ '

'Be ready in half an hour! ^^ - Ad.'

"Adelle!" exclaimed Stefan, catching my attention. I might have zoned out of their conversation and now looking around I saw that Alaric had my Luca in his hands.

"How about this? Ric, you told me that Isobel had a vast research on a lot of supernatural topics. If she was correct about the vampires she might have some information about werewolves too. Right?" I asked.

The room got quiet, all eyes were either on me or on the teacher. He was thinking over my words.

"All of it is in her university office." he concluded, making me smile.

"Perfect! Elena you can go with him if you want?" I proposed and she agreed, probably eager to see some part of her mother's world. Then I turned towards the brothers, who still stood outside, not being invited. "It might be dangerous, Isobel doesn't want to be found so a lot of things could go wrong there."

"One of us has to go with them." finished my thought the younger Salvatore.

"I can protect Elena and myself." scoffed the hunter, not liking the idea at all.

"Yeah, no." snorted Damon, annoying on purpose my teacher, who glared at him.

"I got you, didn't I?" he fired back, making the vampire tense and show his teeth. Okay there….

"You are so brave telling me this from all over the other side of the door. Don't make me regret sparing your life, teach." the vampire threatened and I had to step in, probably comically waving my hands to distract them from attacking each other.

"So it's decided!" I exclaimed getting their attention. "Damon is going with Ric and Elena!" I grinned.

"What? No." shook his head Alaric while Damon rolled his eyes not taking me seriously.

"Here is a chance to get over this stupid feud created again by a woman! "I glared at the two soon-to-be-bffs. "And a way to see who is better at...whatever you are competing against each other. Who knows you might get ambushed or something!" I said cheekily, ignoring the snort from the blue eyed man, and the sigh from the hunter.

"I will call Lexi, and see if she knows something about it." added Stefan, who seemed to agree with my plan.

Good!

"I never agreed to this!" stepped in Elena but surprisingly was ignored.

"We are taking my car so keep your toys away from my leather seats, teach." said Damon. Ric glared at him but after a brief pause he agreed.

Before Damon disappeared he looked at me, pointing a finger in my direction. Mocking.

"When I get back we are going to have a talk about how to properly serve new information." I couldn't hold back the grin and laughed comically nodding like he was my commander and I was a solder.

"Yes, sir!"

The vampire rolled his beautiful eyes at me and I saw the left corner of him mouth twitching upwards forming a small but genuine smile.

Then he was gone.

As Elena was calling Jenna and Jeremy, informing them about what was going on, and where she would be going, Alaric was opening the recorded file on my camera, listening on the conversation between me and the Bennett witch. I silently stepped out of the apartment and found Stefan leaning on the far end of the hall where it was connected with the stair case. In hand he had his phone, texting Lexi. And even if he was a lot calmer than before, his body was still tense.

"What did she say?" I asked, making his eyes snap in my direction.

"She doesn't know anything, but has a friend who might have some information. I will go and meet her, then we will see what this vampire knows." the ex-Ripper explained and I nodded surprised, but then again why was I that shocked? Lexi was an old vampire, she knew a lot of people, who knew a lot of things. If she wasn't killed in the series she could have helped a lot too, like Sheila.

"When are you coming back?" I asked and my voice had this note of worry that I let slip. Because I was indeed worried about the man standing in front of me. I had no idea what would await him in that meeting. I had no control or knowledge of it.

It scared me.

"Probably tomorrow morning." sighing I came closer to him, knowing that he would soon leave too. "You can come too, you know?"

"I can't, I promised Tyler we would have a little trip out of town today." he nodded and before I could get any near, he did it himself, engulfing me in his strong arms, pushing my body against his.

I took a deep breath of his musky scent, smiling in content of being held and letting the feeling of security wash over me. I leaned in more, my head rested on his chest, while one of his hands was threaded in my white hair. It was such a soothing gesture.

"Damon is right, you can't serve us such dangerous information the way you did, Adelle." said the vampire, his voice low and deep.

"Next time I will wait for you two, so we can all hear it together." I quipped feeling the rumble of his chest as Stefan chuckled in amusement.

"And I should not expecting anything else but uniqueness from you."

Stop!

Stop it, Ad, don't blush!

"Ugh...you better do that." okay totally awkward answer. Good job, you! Tche!

Pulling away, I took a step back too, looking up I let my smile show, even if I still had red cheeks.

"Be safe."

"You too." he said and leaned in kissing my forehead.

Before he could pull away, my hand flew up, catching his cheeks. His green eyes became big in surprise as I looked over his beautiful face, noticing every detail about this gorgeous man. Then I kissed his temple too.

* * *

So I wasn't exactly planning on things to turn the way they did. You know? I was thinking that after everyone found out about the existence of werewolves, there would be some kind of uproar, a lot more suspicion and doubt. Hell, I even imagined Damon snapping necks from left to right and Stefan waving his disapproving finger at his brother's face.

But nah!

Nothing like that occurred.

Actually, all the people involved took the news like it wasn't the most shocking revelation by far, and they would just deal with it. Like when did all of these people get so used to the idea of supernatural surprises.

I admit I was giddy about seeing Elena going into shock arrest or something, like any normal person would have. And I knew that she was close to doing just that. But then she pushed the panic down and acted...like a big sister. I saw she was afraid but tried to hide it as much as possible. Was it because of me? Was she doing this composed unrealistic version of herself just because she was worried about me and that if I was taking the 'news' so 'bravely', she should do it too? Hell! The girl even agreed to go on a little road trip with Damon, who she despised a lot in this time line.

Ric on the other hand, was as composed as I expected. He thought about all of it the best way possible. For a man that wanted nothing to do with anything supernatural, he was okay with partaking in the hunt for more information. I had the sneaky feeling that he agreed to it for the sole purpose of having another round with the blue eyed vampire. But oh, well, I couldn't really blame him.

Jenna, who was immediately informed and took it as any other secret we told her till now. She agreed to whatever we had in mind, after a pause for a deep breath. I was sure that right about now, she was having a drink, going over what Elena told her and like any psychology major, she was analyzing it. I had no doubt that after a good nap, she would have cleared her head and gotten over the shock. But then, this woman was the only normal one midst all of us. I was counting on her to be the one reacting... like...shouting, denying, crying….

You know...the sane reaction on finding out your family is interacting with vampires, and is looking for werewolves.

But no, she would just need to sleep it over and she would be fine...like what the heck? Tell someone from my dimension about this and TMZ will be knocking on your door in the next 10 minutes!

Bottom line is that everyone here was just plain crazy.

The end.

Jeremy on the other hand, took it all suspiciously, without a comment. I didn't know why, but I had the feeling that he was reacting to it far from what he let Elena and Jenna believe.

So yeah, you can say that I was expecting a surprising ambush from the brat any moment now.

After the unexpected gathering at the front door of my history teacher's home, I went back to the Gilbert's house before I picked Tyler. There was no one there, expect for Beluga who was munching on one of his toys. Picking some of the things I needed, as well as my camera I was out of the door in less than a few minutes.

Parking in front of the Lockwood mansion I was expecting to find Tyler waiting for me, but he wasn't. Knocking on the front door, I heard some chatter from the inside and when no one came, I let myself in.

Well, Ty was my BFF, so I had the unspoken pass for barging in his property without announcement.

Duh.

Following the voices I stepped in the living room on the first floor where I was met with the sight of Tyler Lockwood playing PS3 with Jeremy Gilbert. They were both sitting on the floor, shouting at one other, acting like the best of friends that I had no intel of them being.

Scrunching my brows in confusion I cleared my throat, gaining both of their attentions. While the future wolf looked surprised, the brat was more or less...amused.

What's up with the evil grin?

"Shit, Ad, I lost track of time!" stood up the wolf boy, followed by my not-so-much-brother-but-brother.

"You ready to go?" I decided to hold back my numerous questions and just get along with my plan. The quarterback nodded, grinning, no doubt happy to leave this town for few hours.

"Yeah we are." agreed Jeremy.

Hold on! What? My eyes bulged in surprise as both guys spared each other ...friendly ...ugh...smiles?

"We?" okay, I had a hard time grasping what was happening here.

"Yeah, aren't we going on this...road trip you spoke about?." taunted me the younger Gilbert and I narrowed my eyes.

What was he playing at? Tyler interrupted me before I could lash out at the kid, already grabbing his jacket and going for the front door.

"Hurry up! We don't have the whole day!" he shouted over his shoulder. And when he was out of ear shot I snapped my attention towards the smirking boy.

"What are you doing, Jeremy?" he shrugged nonchalantly like it was no big deal.

"Well, after what Elena served both me and Jenna, about the existence of you know what, which by the way was your place to tell us, as you were the first to find out, I decided that it would be a great idea to tag along to wherever you are planning on going." the boy said as we started walking towards my car.

"It's just a road..." he interrupted me.

"Don't give me that bullshit, Adelle, we both know that it is just a pretext for something else and I am surprisingly the only one that saw it. Whatever you are planning I want a part in it, there is no way you are keeping something else from me. I hate it when I am the last one to find out about everything." he glared and I let out a groan.

Ugh, great.

"We are just..."

"Save it, if it wasn't important you would have gone with Elena or Stefan." he got me there.

Tch, this brat was smarter than I gave him credit for.

There was a honk that put me out of my daze as we found out Tyler, already occupying the passenger seat of my car, waving for us to get going.

"Whatever!" I narrowed my eyes and he smirked in satisfaction.

"Think of it as a payback for what you did with my phone, Addie. It took me a freaking hour to get it back to normal." hissed the kid and I couldn't hold back the grin.

Fair enough.

Soon after, we were on the road.

And what a mistake it was to think that I could handle both of the strong headed idiots in one confined space for more than twenty minutes.

"Stop it!" I growled already losing my cool as I had to endure the childish bickering between the two as they fought over which music station we should be listening to. As Jeremy was sitting on the back seat, he had to reach out every time he changed the channel while Tyler would glare at him and slap the hand away, which would result in some shouting, threatening and huffing.

Like seriously?

Those two were perfectly fine when I found them playing. Now they were acting like kids.

At least there was no murderous intend in either of them, like in the series.

"Tell your brother to cut it out, Ad, the hell if I'm listening to some punk rock barf!" almost whined the wolf next to me and I felt a vein throbbing on my forehead, mere seconds away from exploding at both of them.

"Yeah, and Rap is so much better." retorted Jeremy from the back and then they started once again disputing who was wrong and what not.

I reached my limit when the Gilbert almost sat between us and as he was shouting at Tyler, his head was right next to mine, making each word he spilled hammer itself in my right ear.

It took only a second for me to know that both of them had their seat belts on, when I pushed without any fear the gas pedal, increasing the speed way too quickly.

This action struck them both and the shock made them shut up.

"Ad, slow down..." said cautiously the future wolf, but I didn't listen to him as I saw a hole on the road which normally I would avoid. But not now, I went right through it, effectively making the car jump a bit, which resulted in Jeremy getting back on his freaking place, eyes big, gripping the seat. And Tyler doing the same, only gripping the handle above his head, staring at me like I have lost it.

"What..." tried to ask Jeremy but he was interrupted when a dog appeared in the distance, not moving from his spot where I would soon be passing through.

"There...Adelle, there is a dog…" Tyler started but I ignored them both.

I would have laughed at how funny they looked like.

Not a sound came after that and I grinned slowing down, just in time so I could evade the stubborn dog that still did not move from the road.

"Ad..." was about to say Jeremy but I suddenly blared out the horn, succeeding in making both of the idiots jump and even shriek.

Then I was back driving like normal. Satisfied expression all over my face.

"You are the devil." grunted my out of this dimension brother, while Tyler nodded silently in agreement.

"I have some sweets in the glove department." I smiled cheekily, like nothing happened. And it was almost comical when both Tyler and Jer jumped in order to take the said food from there.

Yes, obey me!

Muahah!

After that both of them toned down the bickering and there was no repeat of the accident.

When we reached the town, where I was meeting the professor who might have something for me, the guys were curious as to what exactly we were doing here.

"I am here to check on the university program. I have a meeting with one of the professors here who agreed to show me around and speak about my interest in his program." I elaborated and it was not a complete lie.

"We came all the way here for something related to studying?" groaned Tyler not one bit pleased. Jeremy looked nothing but suspicious, but oh well…

"What the hell should we do till you are ..." started once again to complain the wolf but stopped when we walked in the campus ground being greeted by the sight of numerous people, banners, balloons and music.

"What the..." asked Jeremy and then some girl came out of nowhere giving us fliers and from them we found out that they had some festival going on.

"Well, I could certainly see a light at the end of the tunnel." grinned Tyler as he ogled at some college girls not far away from us. Jeremy rolled his eyes, but then they quickly caught on a stand full with drawings and art supplies.

His brown eyes shown like it was Christmas.

Smirking at their reactions I was glad that they had a distraction.

"When I'm done, I will find you both, in the meantime don't do anything stupid." I told them but was completely ignored as one went straight to the bunch of girls, swagger on while the other almost skipped over the guys who were behind the art exhibition.

Huh, it was easier than I thought.

When I found the professor I had a meeting with, he was in his office. The place was neat and even had a fish tank.

I know right?

We had a talk, in which he explained his studies about cult religious behavior. In one word it was almost useless, but I got an idea from what he had told me. Whoever send me here, not only had to be very strong and powerful, but in order to do it, somehow he should have repaired the damage of the balance in nature.

I wasn't supposed to be here and it was a lot more complicated than bringing back a dead person, because I was in entire different dimension.

That strangely and frighteningly reminded me of the prison worlds that were created by the Gemini coven in the show. That led me to the realization that they might or might not know something about it.

The bad part? I had no idea how to find them.

When we were done talking, I was on my way to exit the professor's office, when the fish tank caught my attention once again. There was a lot of fish and decoration in the water. So without thinking, making sure I haven't been seen, I pulled out the moon stone from my bag, quickly letting it sink on the bottom of the tank. There it blended with more stones and corrals.

It was the perfect place to hide it. No one knew I had it, no one knew about this professor and his fish tank either.

At first I thought about destroying the stone or getting rid of it. But then I remembered that it had a lot of magic stashed in it, going back all the way to the mother of the Original vampires. In the future it could be useful if I somehow needed a spell that required a lot of power and magic. A witch could channel the stone.

It was perfect and Katherine had no way of getting her hands on it.

Later I found the boys having a good time at the festival, I joined them too, not drinking though. The music was great, the people were all cool and both Tyler and Jeremy found their groups in the crowd. It was fun to watch, but then again that was college for you, you could finally find more people with your interests.

On our way back no one complained about our trip and I was left alone not questioned about the strange meeting I had.

Oh, and from the looks of it Tyler and Jeremy...were actually...acting like friends.

* * *

When I got home, I was met with Damon Salvatore lazily lounging on my bed. He was flipping through some of my albums and I had no energy left in me to shout at him for touching my stuff.

"How did it go?" I asked after he greeted me with his usual sexy smirk and wiggling eyebrows.

"Well you know, apart from Elena totally falling in love it me." I scoffed. "Becoming besties with your teacher and saving his ass twice." sure and he didn't do the same. I rolled my eyes. "We found the research."

"And?" I pushed, while getting my makeup off. Damon wasn't looking at me directly still flipping through the photos, but I caught him glancing at me from time to time like he was observing my actions.

"You were right, there are werewolves around us. Isobel's work wasn't as profound as what the Bennett told you, but it did confirm it." I nodded. When I turned back the vampire had dropped what he was doing and was staring at me.

"Where is Elena?"

"Playing step-daughter with Alaric." waved off unconcerned the man. I laughed but quickly stopped as his blue eyes regarded me with curiosity.

"And how was your day, honey?" were his next words laced with sarcasm and I shook my head grinning at his cheekiness.

"Oh...you know..." I stepping in the bathroom, putting paste on my toothbrush. "Visited a college party with Tyler and Jeremy." I hid the grin from my face as the vampire appeared next to me, surprise all over his features.

"You what?" he asked and I shrugged.

"Well you were all busy, so I thought why not?" then I started to brush my teeth not one bit embarrassed that the sexy man next to me was seeing that. On the contrary, he was still mulling over my words.

"Did...did something happen?" I spared him a curious look.

Like what exactly?

"Nothing worth mentioning." I smiled as I was done with my hygiene routine, walking back in my bedroom, I was followed by the vampire who had unreadable expression.

Flopping down on my bed, I put aside the albums and patted the space next to me. After a quick quirk of his eyebrow, Damon laid down.

"Why, Miss Gilbert, I didn't peg you for this type of girl, how very preposterous of you." played shocked the vampire making me laugh at his cheekiness. I was laying completely on my back, facing the ceiling, while the older Salvatore laid down facing me, one hand holding his head up, and the other playing with my sleeve. Pulling it every time I looked anywhere but him. Was he really pouting or was he playing me?

The whole situation was a bit surreal, but the same time I didn't feel out of place or uncomfortable.

"Damon, be honest." I turned my head to look at him, surprised by how intensely his eyes were boring in my own. "Are you okay? You didn't get hurt right?" I already knew the answer but I needed to hear it from him, this worry I felt bubbling inside of me, made me twitch. And I had the feeling it would not go away till the vampire didn't say it out loud.

A brief pause, in which Damon roved his orbs all over my face, he answered.

"Nothing I couldn't handle." I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding and did not stop the relieved smile from gracing my lips.

My reaction took him by surprise, as his expression told me clearly that he didn't expect for me to be so worried about his well-being.

"I'm glad." I finally said, not even realizing that my hand had moved on its own accord and had threaded itself in the surprisingly soft tresses of Damon's black hair.

The man himself, stood stock still, most certainly not expecting this from me. I schooled my reaction too, not wanting to let him know how surprised I was by my own action. He didn't move for a moment, and I was almost afraid he would spring as far away from me as possible. I don't know where my bravery came from but I moved my hand, a mixture of scratching his scalp and massaging it.

In just the span of a second his hesitation turned in pleasure.

Damon closed his eyes instantly, letting out a low and almost unnoticeable groan that bordered with a moan. I almost chocked on my own saliva, as he moved closer to me, leaning into my hand, body shockingly relaxing with each passing second. I bit my lip, observing the whole thing, I was steps away from pinching myself, not believing this was actually happening.

Maybe that's why I didn't notice the arm that circled itself around my waist pulling me towards its owner. I held my breath, fearing that if I let out a sound the spell would be broken and the vampire would pull back up his walls.

But that did not happen. I let him move my body, till I was flush against him, and silently observed in astonishment when Damon Salvatore laid his head just below my breasts, one arm still holding me, eyes closed as I kept on massaging his head.

Soon I relaxed too, loving how good it felt to be held like that, and my chest soared in pure adoration as I looked down at the strong, vicious, capable of killing without batting an eyelash man, the one I should be scared of. But all I could see was how he released all of his borders, letting his guard down, allowing me to do this. I have never seen him so content, so relaxed. From time to time he would let out a low rumble, unconsciously rubbing his head on my stomach, burying himself closer to me.

And I was sure he was hearing how fast and frantic my heart was beating.

Not knowing, I was smiling, feeling content at the position we found ourselves in. Soon after I had fallen asleep.

* * *

What I didn't know, was that few hours later, the door of my bedroom opened and in walked the younger Salvatore, who stopped in his tracks after seeing his brother laying on the girl he had fallen in love with.

There was shock going through his body, not quite understanding what he was witnessing.

There was confusion of how he should react to it.

Should he get angry?

Betrayed? Jealous? Hurt?

But then he couldn't do any of it, because when his green eyes swiped more carefully at the duo on the bed, he found himself enticed. Stefan had never seen his own brother so relaxed, so tender as he was now there holding the girl he would die for. Adelle, was actually sleeping peacefully too. The younger Salvatore was aware of her restless nights, where she would get only few hours of sleep, as he often looked after her from afar, feeling helpless at how lost and tired she was every night.

But not now. No, Addie, appeared to be having the first real rest since he first saw her. Was it because of his brother? What was their relationship? They looked so in place right next to each other.

He envied that.

He felt like he was intruding.

Just before Stefan took a step back, to get out, Damon's eyes snapped open, sleep visible in their depths, but clarity and comprehension swimming there too. Both brothers stared at one other for what it seemed to be hours, when it was only seconds.

There was no anger. No glaring or threatening. No declaration of betrayal or hatred.

Just understanding.

Understanding that both needed the oblivious girl that slept still, not one bit aware of the present moment when the worlds of two men now revolved solely around her.

It had happened before, century and a half ago, but this time this woman wasn't breaking them apart. On the contrary she was bringing them closer, making them whole, forcing them to realize that they loved each other, that Damon would do anything for his brother just like Stefan.

They had repaired their bond, they had started to get to know each other once again.

All because of her.

That's why they wanted her, needed her, they knew that she was the one making this possible, she was the one to balance their clashing personalities.

Making the strange puzzle finally fit together.

So when Damon's hand extended itself, slowly in his brother's direction, the other vampire wordlessly accepted the silent invitation and took off his shoes, carefully laying his body on the bed, on the other side of the human girl. His green eyes traveling over her beautiful features, losing himself in the softness of her body, in the beating of her strong and passionate heart. He then looked at Damon, who took his place back on her stomach, arm once again around her small waist, he himself feeling at home with her scent engulfing him in the most serene state of mind and being.

Stefan started to relax, let go go and just... feel. He laid next to Adelle and his brother, hiding his face in the crook of the girl's neck, kissing softly the smooth skin, feeling a rumble of satisfaction bubbling in his throat. His right arm, extended itself around her mid-section, just like Damon's left one, hugging her as close to him as possible without waking her up. His hand grazed the skin of his brother, the contact would normally shock him, making him retract in fear of getting the other man angry. But for a while, since they forgave each other and started over, there was no more animosity. That's why neither of them pulled away from the contact.

Because instead of anger or awkwardness, there was only a sense of belonging. Like this touch made their growing bond stronger, all while they were both holding the sleeping girl.

Unconsciously they fell asleep, counting the beating of the alluring heart of the sweet Adelle who somehow made them see another world full of possibilities.

A world where they could find happiness.

* * *

When I woke up I was alone in my bed, what surprised me was the time when I looked at my clock.

I had slept for eight hours straight, not once waking up. This has never happened to me, since I found myself locked in this dimension. I had not even once felt so charged with energy, because till now I had always gotten up at least a few times from my restless sleep.

Not this time, it seems.

I didn't know when Damon had left, and I didn't really question it. If anything I was certain it would happen.

I had no problem with it either, the vampire didn't let his guard down. Never. So for him to do that in front of me, must have confused him, and let's be real, Damon Salvatore would prefer to drink a litter of vervain then speak about his feelings.

My thoughts were interrupted by Elena, who looked surprised to see me still in bed. From what I could hear, everyone was up already, moving around the house.

"You okay?" the doppelganger asked me and I nodded, not knowing how or why I could explain my strange absence in the kitchen. "Jenna is making breakfast, do you want to go to school together?" she questioned tentatively.

"Sure." was my surprising response. It shocked us both.

Later after eating for the first time with everyone in the Gilbert's house, we went to school. There things were normal, Caroline was as energetic as usual, Bonnie was talking either about her new boyfriend or secretly discussed the existence of werewolves. Alaric made me grin like an idiot when he stopped me after his class, asking if everything was okay. He was worried that I didn't show up in his apartment like any other morning and I held back the shit eat grin that threatened to burst from me at how giddy I was to find out that he actually missed our breakfasts together.

Of course he would never admit it out loud, but I could see it clearly written all over his face.

Elena joined us not long after, they told me what exactly happened in Isobel's office, the ambush and everything like it was in the show. It was funny to see how annoyed the hunter was at the prospect that Damon had saved him, it clearly confused him as he till now viewed the vampire with nothing but hatred.

After yesterday? He had his doubts about the evilness of the blue eyes man.

Elena was more or less the same. As she confessed she expected a lot of bad things from the older Salvatore. None of which happened.

Surprisingly the raven haired man, behaved, not including the sarcastic comments and the dickery he was so well known for.

All in all, their trip had more than one positive outcome. No matter if no one was willing to admit it.

After school, I was met with Stefan, leaning on his car, watching me as I made my way towards him. He skipped classes with the excuse of guarding John. I had the sneaky feeling that he was lying to me, but then I had no way of knowing the truth, and till he was told me himself, I would let it slide.

I could not hold back the happy smile from gracing my face as I got near him. The vampire looked dashing in his casual wear and gentle features that made me giddy to be on the receiving end of it all.

"Hey." I greeted him, not wasting time on hugging him, happy to see he was alright.

"Hey yourself." his low deep voice answered as he leaned down and surprised me by kissing my neck, slowly and a lot longer than the brief kisses he had given me before on my forehead.

Not that I was protesting or anything.

"How did it go?" I asked as we parted and he led me towards the passenger seat of his car.

"Lexi says hello." he said, after getting in himself, starting the vehicle. I grinned, remembering the blond and how much I liked the night we spent together celebrating Stefan's birthday.

Wow, it felt like a life time ago.

I knew he was driving us towards the boarding house and that's when I realized that my annoying not-so-much-uncle-but-for-safety-reasons-uncle was free of vervain and it was time to get the whole true out of him.

"We met with this vampire, he was a lot older than I expected and he confirmed what we had known till now." startled me out of my thoughts the green eyed man next to me. "He met a pack years ago and described how the transformation worked. From what I gathered if we ever come across them, we should stay away from the woods on full moon, or things could get very bad." I nodded completely agreeing with what he said.

"Anything else?" I asked and there was a brief pause in which the vampire spared me a strange look, like he was contemplating on saying something but then thought better of it. Clearing his throat as I played oblivious he continued.

"Yeah, he said something about a stone that was charmed with a spell. It gave the werewolves control over when they wished to transform. Something like..."

"Your day light ring." I finished for him.

"Yeah."

That's when we saw the boarding house come into a view. I turned towards the vampire, but he silently turned off the car and stepped out. Before I could reach for the handle, Damon was already opening my door, letting me out. The brothers shared a brief look, which I decided not to questions because I was getting anxious about the upcoming interrogation. A lot was going to change after that.

"So, I presume you are already aware of what is going on?" smirked Damon and I smiled in return nodding my head.

At least he was talking to me, not completely ignoring me like I was expecting, nor angry or embarrassed about last night.

That was good. Very good.

But it still left me with a lot of questions of as to why he was so calm. This nagging feeling like I was missing something appeared once again but I squished it down, because now we had a lot more serious things to take care of. I followed the brothers in the house, then down the stairs where they entered the cell, finding a tied up John Gilbert, on a chair, ready to rip out his own tongue.

The phrase about glaring daggers at someone, was the biggest understatement of the year for him.

I have never seen so much hatred directed towards me.

I pulled out my camera, perching it in the corner of the room, where it would film the whole interrogation and from where it could capture the whole space. Stefan threw me a questioning look in return of which I shrugged.

"It would be easier if I filmed the whole thing then to repeat myself numerous times for the rest of the people who will sooner or later find out." I explained

John then opened his mouth sure as hell ready to shout on top of his lungs, curse us with everything he had, but Damon was in front of him, before he even had the chance to make a sound.

"You will stay still and answer all of our questions with the truth only. You will not lie and you will listen to every command that comes from me, Stefan or Adelle." and just like that John Gilbert was left to our mercy.

Then the questions followed.


	10. Chapter 10

Disclaimer

I do not own Vampire Diaries. The O.C. is my only original character.

This story will follow the series to some extend, there will be a lot of changes and you will find a partial O.O.C. here.

It will be rated **[M]** for future chapters and yes it will be a **Menage love story/P** **olygamous relationship** , if you don't like please don't read.

I welcome constructive criticism and if you would like to help me with that, please write me a P.M.

Big thanks to my Betaa - _AOHAD_ for correcting this chapter! ^w^

 **[!]** Comments. Follows. Any kind of support is highly appreciated. No kidding, it does give the motivation to update faster!

* * *

Chapter 10

It was quiet after the moment Damon compelled John. Said man stopped moving and stood still like a statue, face blank, eyes empty, if I didn't know I would think he wasn't breathing either. Now that I remember it was the first time when I witnessed someone being under compulsion.

It was one damn scary thing.

It made me shiver at the possibility of this happening to me some day... somehow.

I sure as hell did not like it.

Still, I felt absolutely nothing towards the helpless uncle. Was it normal to be so apathetic about the people I really didn't care about? Imagining Caroline being in the chair instead of the Gilbert would make me go bat shit crazy, but him? Nah.

Stefan stood next to me, while we watched the scene unfold itself. Damon backed a bit when he was sure that the hunter wasn't acting and after a brief pause the questioning began.

"Why are you in Mystic Falls?" asked Stefan. The compelled victim didn't even bat an eyelash before answering with a voice so much devoid of emotions that it was like looking at a wall.

"I came to kill you."

"Why?" probed deeper the ex-Ripper.

"No one is safe around vampires, it's my duty to protect the town and my family."

"What do you know about us?" asked next Damon, eyes narrowed.

"I know a lot about you. I know about your life before you turned, how you became vampires. I know that you opened the tomb and killed all the bloodsuckers inside." the brothers stood rigid after hearing that. "I know that both of you can't stay away from my niece too." I sensed the whole atmosphere changing.

"How?" questioned Stefan, voice low and hard.

"Isobel told me most of it, but I have been watching you since you came in town." explained John.

A silence.

My guess was that the Salvatore didn't know which question to pose first.

"What do you know about Katherine?" Damon's tone cold as ice. He had stepped closer to the hunter and I knew he was barely holding himself back from snapping the man in half.

I watched it all, not sure when I should step in, feeling that the brothers had forgotten about my presence, being so deep in their own minds.

"She is the one who turned you. She is the ancestor of Isobel and Elena. I haven't spoken to her. Isobel told me that Katherine had a plan about Mystic Falls and that she had sent Isobel to you in order for you to turn her. I know she is dangerous and will kill me if I don't do what she says."

"Why wasn't she in the tomb?" continued the raven haired man.

"Katherine is hiding from someone. I don't know anything more." ooh! Here is something juicy!

"What is your connection to Isobel?" it was my turn to voice my question.

"I slept with her in the past." gritted through his teeth the man and I glared at him, knowing he was holding back the most important information, seeing a window to not say it.

Shame. He would have succeeded if it wasn't me in front of him.

"What else?" I narrowed my blue eyes, watching as he struggled, but the compulsion was stronger and he had no other choice but to answer.

"She is the mother of my child."

Here it is, ladies and gentlemen! Stefan sucked a breath in shock next to me, Damon snapped his head in disbelieve in my direction, the two vampires clearly not expecting this revelation.

"Elena is your daughter?" confirmed the green eyed brother.

"Yes."

"Explain." I ordered and John did, he told the three of us the story of how Elena found herself in the Gilbert's family, and that he and Isobel were too young to take care of her. The man then said he was here to protect her from the Salvatores. That girl was in danger.

"Where is Isobel?" asked Damon.

"Near. I don't know exactly, she never told me."

"What is her plan?" Stefan continued his brother's train of thoughts.

"She never said anything specific. Just that she has to follow Katherine's orders and do whatever she has to. In return, Elena would be safe."

That got all of our attention. I already knew what he was talking about. The curse. The sacrifice. But it looks like he wasn't aware of the details. Which meant that he didn't know anything more. In order for the Salvatore brothers and the rest of the 'gang' to find what was really going on and what danger was coming their way, I needed Isobel.

"Apart from your ex, is there someone else you are working with?" Stefan. Oh boy, neither brother was thrilled with what they were hearing. Slowly they were realizing that shit was about to hit the fan.

"I am alone. Isobel has turned few vampires to help her if she needed."

Ah. Totally forgot about that too.

Great.

Sneaky woman.

"What are we going to do?" finally I willed myself to ask. It had become quiet after the last words of the human, all of us lost in our own worlds.

"He is going to help us lure Isobel back in town. Mother dearest has some things to explain." smirked coldly the blue eyed vampire. He was glaring with such force at the Gilbert in the room, that it made me feel bad. I guess he didn't like all of the things we heard. But I understood very well where he was coming from.

Stefan nodded, agreeing with his brother's idea.

"Give the tape to Elena, she should know about that too." he said, his words making Damon grown in annoyance.

"Great, like the drama wasn't enough." I held back a smirk, by rolling my eyes.

"Damon, she must know that John is her father and that she is somehow in danger." kept on Stefan and I just stood there watching as the brothers bantered with one other. The younger pestering, while the older was statistically denying everything.

It was amusing, if I could say so.

"Miss big mouth will tell everyone!" Damon waved his hands exaggerating. Stefan was about to fight his statement, when he paused, mulling over what his sibling told us.

Then he totally saw that Damon was right. So he didn't object.

Snort.

Look at that.

"Either way, they will find out, sooner or later. At least they could be prepared for the unexpected visitor. Especially Alaric." I decided that it was about time to add my opinion on the matter.

"So what do you suggest?" asked Stefan, his and Damon's attention now entirely on me.

At first I shrugged my shoulders, pausing to think what was exactly the best course of action, then I saw my camera in the corner still recording. Silently I went to my Luca, turned it off and looked back at the Salvatores who were watching my every move. Curiosity evident in both of their expressions.

"We got the interrogation on tape. It would be so much easier just to show it to everyone…like...I will call everyone tonight, then gather them in the house in the pretext of a...a movie night!" I grinned, the idea striking me, a grin of satisfaction gracing my face.

I was genius!

"When everyone is seated, BOOM instead of a boring movie, they will watch this." I motioned towards my camera. "I will even make popcorn!"

Yeah, and I admit of letting out a small giggle, by just imagining the whole scene unfolding.

The brothers looked just like when they saw the body of unconscious John in my trunk.

They were flabbergasted.

"You...you want to serve the news to everyone..." started Damon. "In the form of a … movie night?"

"Yep!" I was grinning, and God knows that I never looked more like the Cheshire cat then right now.

"I...Adelle, why..." shook his head Stefan as he threaded his fingers through his hair, sighing in frustration, probably trying to grasp my brilliant idea.

Damon on the other hand, was looking at the ceiling, almost like he was questioning my sanity.

Yeah...and I am blind! Neither vampire could deny the amusement they were feeling because of my plan. It was so obvious, that while Stefan was holding back his chuckle, Damon was fighting back a smirk.

"What? You have better idea?" I taunted finally succeeding in getting the brothers to smile...or some kind of variation of a smile.

"Well...if you would like to know..." started the raven vampire, but I waved him off, which resulted in his brow lifting in question my dismissal.

"Spare me! If you don't want, don't come. It will be your loss." I shrugged, holding my grin, inside I was hoping they would participate.

"I'll bring the popcorn, then." said Stefan which made me almost choke on my own saliva, not expecting those words to come out of his mouth. The said vampire was sporting a visible amused expression and I winked at him, in approval.

"Make sure they are unflavored and unsalted!" I quipped, getting out a snort from the other brother who was had a mocking expression on.

"And risk destroying your vegan diet, never!" huh, he was trying to be funny, I stuck my tongue out, sucker!

The whole bickering between me and the Salvatore was interrupted by the clearing of a throat, which came from the still tied and compelled John Gilbert. Even if he couldn't move or talk, if not told otherwise, the man was wearing the most unbelieving expression I have ever seen. I didn't know what exactly provoked it.

The realization he was at our mercy.

The knowledge we found out everything he was hiding.

Or being witness to this strange conversation.

Questions, questions.

The amusing part was that, the vampires were supposed to be more...opposed to my idea, but then again they had gotten to know me well by know and should be used to it.

I was just weird like that.

And let's be honest, when will I ever get the same possibility? Can you imagine all of their reactions?

It will be hilarious.

My inner devil was cackling with satisfaction. And I stopped myself from rubbing my hands at how my weirdness slowly corrupted Damon and Stefan as well.

Heh.

* * *

"So...what's this all about?" asked Alaric stepping in the Gilbert's house, we could both hear the voices from the living room and the hunter wasn't the first one to ask this question. Before I could open my mouth to answer Damon peeked from the kitchen, smirk on place, looking devious as always.

The vampire stepped out, showing his choice of clothes for the night, all black as usual with the exception of a …

I can't believe I'm saying this…

With the exception of the violet apron around his waist. Yes, the older Salvatore had stolen the cloth from our kitchen the moment he came in. And to tell you the truth, I was left speechless just like my history teacher was at the moment. Because seriously, could you imagine Damon Salvatore adorning an … an apron?

Like… do you comprehend how surreal it is to witness it? And let me tell you, the vampire was not ashamed to wear the female color and wore it with such satisfaction that he basked in the glory of shocked expressions he got when every guest showed up one after the other.

Stefan was for a fact the only one to … not be as flabbergasted as the rest of us, when he saw his brother, shaking his...his behind while, making popcorn on the stove. Yes, the said raven man, decided to take up the role of the 'cook' for tonight's 'show', which consisted of...of well, making popcorn.

That's it, really.

Sadly, he didn't see it that way, as he insisted that we just didn't understand how important his job was. When he found Jenna's apron, it was like seeing a kid on Christmas morning. At first I thought he was joking, but then he did put it on, and even twirled once, showing off his new accessory. Jenna and Elena were present for the said occurrence, and the poor women were left short of any kind of response. Then the vampire pulled out his phone and turned on the music.

Happily reenacting a housewife … or something.

I had to of course ask him, what was so special about the whole procedure in making the said junk food, but the blue eyed man had the decency to 'shush' me. He then said something of the sort that mere ignorance like mine could never understand the art of making popcorn.

He even looked scandalized when Jeremy showed up with some bags of chips.

Till now I rest assured that Damon was shitting with all of us, when he flashed in front the youngest Gilbert, took the junk and threw it all in the bin, like the mere presence of it offended him.

Then Bonnie came in, ready to start questioning the suspicious gathering, but stopped when she saw the vampire. He was in midst of explaining Jenna how to properly heat up the pan where he would prepare the food, and Bon couldn't contain her splutter for lack of words. She even looked at me with a look of accusation, thinking that it was some of my schemes, but then she quickly caught how Damon just enjoyed being the center of everyone's conversation.

And let's be real, he did it only because of the effect, of the shock and….attention.

It all became clear when Stefan entered and reacted like this was nothing special. Damon would have huffed...even pouted, but then I think he had enough emasculating himself for one day, even for his standards and even in the name of playing with everyone's sanity.

Because Damon Salvatore plus apron equals chaos.

That's the way things are, he knew it and he loved it.

To tell you the truth, as Stefan later told us, he was expecting something like that, but what he was prepared for was seeing his brother in the same exact position...just half naked.

Damon of course heard that and said something of the sort …

"I look sexy, I try not to, but it just keeps happening."

And...something about endangering his purity...yeah you heard correctly...if he let us see him without clothes.

It was enough to say, that Elena was very embarrassed, Jenna was reevaluating her view on the vampire's psychological status and Jeremy a had hard time keeping his snorts at bay.

So when Alaric was the last to show up, everyone else was already in the living room. They were waiting for the movie night I had somehow either persuaded them to participate in or had threatened them to come for.

The video tape was ready to be played and all the hell would break loose, too.

And while Stefan was keeping the questions to a minimum, making sure no one would … well, suspect anything before it was slapped right at their face, Damon was still in the kitchen, already done with the popcorn. He was waiting for his soon-to-be-bff to show up, so he could get one last shocked reaction before the heavy stuff would take place.

The hunter, though, surprised both of us, as he passed by us unaffected, muttering something under his nose, that suspiciously sounded like he was grateful he had a drink...or two, before indulging on my very bizarre request for tonight.

"Whatever." waved Damon off, as we watched the teacher disappear from our sight. "The hungry looks your aunt and sister threw at me, were more than enough." smirked the vampire from next to me, looking down to see my exasperated expression.

"I wouldn't exactly call it hungry looks, Damon." I rolled my eyes, not really holding back my grin, because the man was right.

Then yet again, he was too sinful for his own good, the apron just made the wild minds of everyone...a tad bit more...wild. And he knew it.

"Please, I bet now you know what you will get me for Christmas." he said referring towards the violet cloth still around his toned mid-section.

"Honey," playing along I continued, loving how at ease the vampire was to joke with me. "There is no need to seek everyone's approval, I know how special you are!" I winked and the man in question couldn't stop the chuckle that escaped his lips, which was momentarily followed by the roll of his blue eyes.

"So...so I'm not a trophy wife?" he mockingly gasped, and God it was hard to contain my laugh! If only I had my camera with me! Before I could fire back something, there was a clearing of a throat and looking away from the vampire I saw Jeremy standing at the entrance of the living room, staring suspiciously at us.

I turned my attention back on the Salvatore, just now realizing how close we were standing next to each other. If I was surprised by the revelation, Damon seemed to be very aware of our proximity, not minding it at all.

"Can we get this over with?" said the Gilbert boy, sending me a look of, 'I know you are up to something, so just spill it out.'

Look how good I have gotten at reading the brat!

I should win a best big sis award or something…

Smirking, Damon spared me one last look, before taking off the apron, tossing it on top of Jer's head while he passed the human on his way to the living area. One gurgle of annoyance from the kid later, and he followed the vampire as well.

I took a deep breath, knowing that most of the fun was done and over with and the real chaos was about to begin.

Maybe that's why Damon made all of this theater earlier, he tried to one up the surprise I was about to serve on everyone.

What a drama queen.

Hah.

When I went to the rest of the group, Bonnie, Jer, Elena and Jenna were perched on the sofa opposite of the big screen. Alaric was sitting on the small couch on their left side, sending me a suspicious look. Everyone was, if I had to tell the truth.

They were realizing that what they were doing here had nothing to do with an actual movie night. Even if the table in front of them was littered with three big and I mean _big_ bowls of popcorn, thanks to Damon.

Stefan was leaning on the wall on the right side of the group, next to the small old cabinet full with the family's tea set. I went next to him, sending him a small smile which he returned, and I could not stop the question forming in my head.

Why was he playing along with my idea?

Yeah, Damon had a knack for drama and what not, so this was something he would have suggested himself if it wasn't me. But Stefan? He wasn't as amused as his brother, but then again he wasn't brooding either.

Did the two of them had such an influence on each other by now, that Damon wasn't a ticking time bomb anymore, and Stefan wasn't the same worry wart slash old man in the body of a teenager?

If so, then I am freaking glad!

But going back to what was going on, I jumped on the wooden furniture, my feet dangling in the air, mere inches away from the vampire. Damon then wordlessly turned on the video tape I made and swooshed to my other side, leaning on the wall like his brother, our shoulders almost touching.

Then the black screen on the TV changed to the scene of the three of us, standing around the tied up John Gilbert.

A gasp...from more than one person and the questions ready to be voiced were interrupted as Damon's compulsion echoed in the stilled living room. Then my eyes caught on the bowl in Stefan's hand, as he pushed it towards me and his brother. I took some of the popcorn in hand and started on munching on it, just like Damon who sent a wink at his younger brother's direction.

We all observed the reaction of the people in the room, the video too.

And fuck … it felt way too damn surreal, because never in my wildest dreams would have I ever thought that this was actually happening.

That I was eating junk food with the Salvatores while the worlds of five humans in front of us changed drastically with the secrets that were revealed in the video.

I was expecting for at least one of them to start shouting, asking questions, or...anything really, but all of the characters from the TV show that was now my reality, sat quiet as they listened to what John had to say.

And hey, maybe it was all thanks to me, my mad skills and the effects I added, making the short film so much better.

Which of course didn't go unnoticed by the brothers, who both sent me looks which were a mixture of amusement and disbelieve.

But then again, what else did they expect?

When the video was over, the end script I added, completely ignored for the chaos I was waiting for hit the three of us like a tsunami.

Stefan, being Stefan, rushed in with his peacekeeping abilities, by explaining and answering all the numerous questions. Damon stood next to me, both of us silently agreeing to let the younger vampire take in the heat, till the 'angry crowd' was under control.

I know. We were total bastards for doing so, but hey! I did most of the job, editing the video, filming it, organizing the meeting.

It was a tiring task!

Heh.

And let's be real I was annoyed that no one noticed how much work I put in photoshoping the interrogation tape.

I even put my name under everything in the end credits...like- director – Adelle Gilbert, producer – Adelle Gilbert, manager – Adelle Gilbert, coordinator...you get it, right?

"I love what you did with the lighting." quipped the raven haired man, amusement dancing in his blue orbs. I smirked shrugging in false modesty which brought the grins to both of our faces.

See! The killing vampire gets me!

Cutting the story short, as everyone released the initial uproar, Damon and I stepped in, helping Stefan to explain what was going on, to answer everything they wanted to know. It took us two hours, in the end of which Bonnie, Jeremy and Jenna were satisfied, while Elena and Alaric were just beginning their demands.

"I want to speak with him." stated determined the doppelganger and I could honestly admit that I understood where she was coming from.

"You can do that tonight, if you'd like?" proposed Stefan, his eyes gentle failing to hide the pity he felt for the girl in front of him. The last time when Elena found out about it, the vampire was next to her, letting her cry on his shoulder, he was fully supporting her, taking care of her, protecting her.

Now?

As hard as it was to believe it, Stefan did neither of it. He stood there, proposing nothing more than the possibility of taking her to see her biological father. There were not reassuring kisses, no loving words, nothing.

The vampire was reacting to her pain the same way he would react if it was Bonnie or Caroline in her place.

Like the girl was nothing more than a …distant friend to him. Nothing more.

The satisfaction I felt? Yes it was there, no matter how hard I tried to squish it down, it still bubbled inside of me. It was because I was seeing that the younger Salvatore wasn't feeling the pull, the attraction, the warmth towards Elena like he had when he and the rest of the people around me were nothing but characters in a show about vampires.

No. Now the only emotion I saw, was truly pity and worry, that he more or less felt because Stefan was a good person and didn't want to see people get hurt.

It was shocking.

It was surreal.

Did it make me a bad person for liking it? Yes. Most definitely yes.

But then I saw Elena, being supported and consoled after the shock, by her best friend, by Jenna and Jeremy, by her family. She wasn't alone, she knew that too. And so when the doppelganger looked at me, eyes lost, not knowing how to react to what she heard, I went and hugged her, letting her know I was there as well.

Did I do it for my own selfish need to lessen the guilt I felt? Yes.

But I knew that my actions weren't so simple. And no matter how much I was going to deny it if ever asked, I did admit to myself- I wanted to help the girl, just because...Elena had become part of my life here. And no matter what I planned on doing, she was still my sister in this reality. Just like I had another one in my old world.

I was ready to accept that.

"What are you planning on doing with John?" asked a very good question Jenna, who even if she never liked the guy, still didn't want him dead.

"We use him to lure Isobel here." shrugged Damon like it was simple as that. Elena was watching him suspiciously, not trusting him at all.

"After that it will be better if he left town." continued Stefan, his voice a lot more compassionate then the indifference his brother displayed.

"You will compel him?" throbbed Jeremy, sparing me a look to see how I reacted to it.

"He is dangerous and wants us dead, it's either that, or I kill him." waved off the raven haired Salvatore which got him a glare from the witch, who was holding Elena.

"I need to talk with him." fired back the doppelganger.

No one opposed her.

Alaric on the other hand was having completely different debate in his mind. The hunter was tense, realizing that the prospect of seeing his 'dead' lying wife was turning in a reality.

"What are you planning on doing with Isobel?" he finally asked, his eyes strangely looking directly and only at me. I saw the battle of his emotions taking place just under the surface of his brown eyes.

"Find what is her connection to Katherine, what danger she was speaking for Elena..." I trailed of.

"I want in." stated my teacher determination clear as a day.

"Sorry to burst your bubble, teach, but we don't need you." scoffed Damon, getting himself in a glare contest with the hunter.

Stefan and I shared a look, knowing that both men were stubborn as they could get, so we stepped in.

I was making sure that Ric was willing to work with us and not behind our backs, while Stefan was talking Damon in agreeing not to snap Elena's step-dad neck at the first possibility he got.

In the end, the two reluctantly agreed to...

Work together?

Not kill each other?

Still not sure.

Later we will make the call, but before that Elena had to speak with John.

* * *

This is how things went after that.

Elena came to the boarding house. While I was up with Damon and Stefan, who was shockingly drinking a glass of human blood, the doppelganger was down in the basement, filling the blanks and getting the answers she needed about her biological parents. When she came up, maybe an hour later or so, I could have sworn that the girl looked lighter. Like some kind of burden was lifted of her shoulders.

"How did it go?" I asked, after seeing that neither of the two men in the room were putting their necks out to find out what family drama had gone down in their own house.

"He explained everything." answered Elena, as she started to pull on her jacket, her posture betraying how tired she was. "Now I know why they did it and I am no longer angry. Even if John would never be my father, I still will appreciate it that he leaves town alive." her brown eyes snapped in Damon's direction, who winked in amusement.

It was strange to see that, Damon, just like Stefan, was not displaying the same emotions he had for the Gilbert girl, like in the show. If it was Damon from the series he would have found a way to flirt with her today at least dozens of times.

But no, he did nothing like that.

To further things up, while his brother at least felt empathy for Elena, Damon looked like he could care less about her problems.

The vampire, didn't throw secret glances full with longing at the said human, he didn't search for reasons to show up at her room or to touch her, he didn't go out of his way to speak with her.

The only different thing in his behavior was the brief looks he gave her, that lasted a second or two longer then, for example with Jenna.

And I had the feeling that it was because of the cunning and almost terrifying similarity Elena shared with Katherine. Because she reminded him of the one that once made his eternal life have a purpose and later tarnish anything good he felt, almost destroying him.

Oh...the plans I had for Katherine Pierce…

Surprisingly after that- she left. Even if Elena was finally realizing that she had a lot bigger part in what was going on. Even if she knew that she was in danger, the doppelganger didn't feel the need to stay longer, to try and make it her business. All she asked was that if we succeeded in getting Isobel, she would like to have a word with her.

A complete one eighty from the show. She just like the Salvatores had changed drastically. Or maybe it was because of the connection they had in the series, wasn't there... was never developed in this reality.

Elena just like Jenna, wanted to be informed but in the same time to stay at the side lines.

Which brought a big difference and I came to the realization that the main character, _the_ Elena Gilbert, was no more the center. That the problems and ...very well _everything_ didn't revolve around her anymore.

Elena wasn't the …. wasn't _the_ girl.

Letting out a sigh I turned my back to the front door. In the distance I could hear the engine of a car getting farther and farther away.

"You drink human blood?" I asked the ex-Ripper, who still sat on the couch near the fireplace, glass of the red liquid still in hand. The shocking thing was that the vampire was sipping from the said beverage, like it was whiskey and not the reason he had gone off the rails numerous times throughout the century.

Stefan looked up, from where his green eyes had been staring, watching the flames dance, and slowly nodded.

"I am getting a grip of it." he said, his orbs now solely on me.

Hearing the good news I didn't stop the grin from appearing on my face. It was amazing to see the control Stefan was displaying so early in comparison to the show. My reaction made him smile in return, body relaxing a bit, like he was awaiting to see how I will react to it.

"I'm happy for you, Stef." I said walking towards him and then sitting next to the vampire. I was fully facing him, and my eyes quickly swept over his beautiful serene features, before I lifted my hand and placed it almost tentatively on his cheek.

The vampire was surprised from my ministration for a second, but then he leaned in to the touch, eyes closing, taking a deep breath, placing a small kiss inside my palm.

"How are you feeling?" I asked, needing to know how Stefan was dealing with the changes in his diet. From my right side I saw Damon, who was standing near the alcohol table, watching the exchange, drink in hand. His face was devoid of any emotions, but not in the bad way. The older brother was just...observing.

"I feel stronger." answered the vampire who had taken my hand, and had placed it on his lap, threading my fingers with his. I liked the touch. I liked how secure it felt to be held like that. "My compulsion works, my speed is better, all of my senses are high and sharp. Just like...just like when I am..." he paused.

"The Ripper." I finished for him in which he nodded. Once again his green orbs were watching if I would react negatively to the mere mention of his darkest moments in his life. But I never would judge him, and Stefan knew that.

"Yes."

"Do you feel like..." how should I voice that?

"Ripping someone's throat out?" the younger vampire proposed in which I confirmed. Before he answered, Stefan paused, thinking over it and I was hoping that he would be honest with me. "Sometimes, yes. But it's not consuming, it can't push me over the edge. The want is there, Adelle, but I can control it, most of the times."

"When he can't I come to the rescue!" stepped in the raven haired Salvatore, smirk on place, but eyes showing how true his statement was.

"Have you both…tried working on your resistance to vervain?" I decided that after knowing what a progress both of them had made, it was time to reach the next step, which was protection against compulsion.

But how should I do that, when they were not aware of the existence of vampires who could compel them?

Damon came closer, eyebrows scrunched in confusion, sitting on the sofa opposite of the one where we were.

"It hurts like a bitch, sweet Adelle, so I tend to stay as far as possible." stated the older brother, sharing a look with Stefan who nodded, confirming he was thinking much or less the same thing.

"Correct me if I'm wrong, but with time, the more you get injured, the less it hurts and the faster you heal, right?" I asked, staring from one vampire to the other.

"You get used to it, yes." agreed Stefan, confusion still visible.

"Isn't it the same with...vervain?"

"Adelle..." Damon tried to interrupt me, but I didn't let him.

"Please hear me out." no one said anything, and I took it as a confirmation. "I know what vervain does to your body, it weakens you, it knocks you out and it hurts a lot. But if you took small doses of it each day, overlooking the pain, and not drinking enough to do real damage, wouldn't your body in time get used to it? I am sure that you would never become immune to the herb, but if you trained your body, the pain would not be so great with time, no? You will be able to fight it and not…"

"Faint because someone injected us." finished my words Damon and I nodded, hoping that they saw what I meant. Both were contemplating over what I said.

"We would be the first ones to do it..." started Stefan and I held back the comment that Katherine was more or less over two centuries is advance from them.

"If anything, you have a point." said next the older brother, staring at me, questions swirling in his mind but never voicing them.

Sometimes I wish I could read their thoughts. To see, to hear, what were they thinking.

"I don't see a reason as to why not do it." agreed the ex-Ripper. I smiled at him, feeling a tad bit more relaxed, because if those two really took my advice seriously, a lot of shit could be prevented from happening.

Damon then disappeared from the room and before I could ask where he went to, the vampire came back with a vial of a clear liquid in hand. His blue eyes were staring at mine when he slowly lifted the lid from the top and brought the glass container to his lips, taking a small gulp.

His eyes then shut and pain took over all over his features, Damon started to cough violently, swearing under his breath. It took him a minute before he could stand on his feet without holding on to his brother's shoulder.

"This sucks." the older Salvatore hissed, voice scratchy, no doubt still healing from the burn of the herb.

The vampire then gave the vial to Stefan, who looked very unsure, knowing how much it would hurt. Taking a deep breath he took a swing of the poison too.

"Just a little, Stefan, or it will knock you off." warned Damon as it was his turn to hold his brother who was doubling over the pain and the burning of his insides.

I winced at how bad it must feel, but stayed quiet till the younger brother healed. The other Salvatore patted him, reassuringly on his back.

The bromance I was witnessing almost made me squeal.

"Not looking forward to this." stated Stefan when he was able to speak. I nodded, showing my sympathy.

"Thank you for agreeing with me." I said, looking at each of the two.

"Well, you have a point, so why not?" waved me off Damon, like it was nothing, but I still felt, almost giddy, that the brothers valued my opinion.

* * *

Next morning we contacted Isobel. Stefan compelled John to call her and when the vampire picked up he told her that Elena was dead.

" _What do you mean dead?"_ came her dangerously low voice from the other side of the phone.

Stefan, Damon and I stayed next to the hunter, while he talked with the vampire. Alaric wasn't far away from us too, observing the whole thing and I didn't miss the small flinch when he heard her voice for the first time since he considered her killed.

"This morning I found her in the woods, someone had drank from her." elaborated the Gilbert, following what we had specifically told him.

" _Who was it?"_ if her tone could kill, all of us would be dead by now. And here at that moment I knew that Isobel had turned her emotions on, even if not completely. Maybe knowing that the only thing she cared for was no longer alive, must have made her break.

"I don't know. I don't know what to do, Isobel..." trailed of the uncle and I rolled my eyes by how real he was acting.

" _I will be in Mystic Falls tomorrow morning, don't do anything or tell anyone, if Katherine finds out, we are both dead."_ were her next commands.

"I will hide the body in the old Lockwood crypt." told her John. "I will be there."

" _I will see you then."_ she ended the call after that, leaving the feel of coldness and vengeance in her waking.

Bingo! We had her.

"So what now? We are going to wait?" asked Alaric, as he was still dazed. John stood like a statue, not being able to do anything but that.

"Elena doesn't want anything to do with him." I motioned towards the second hunter. "He did what we needed him for."

"So what do I compel him to do?" asked next Stefan.

"Easy, forget all about us, all about his life here and the existence of vampires." glared Damon. He was wishing he could just snap John's neck.

"Tell him to leave and never come back, to go in another country, start a new life. Fill in the blanks however you want." I continued.

"And if Katherine contacts him?" asked the younger vampire.

"Not to pick up, to change his number, and if she still finds him, to tell us." waved off the blue eyed man.

And that's what happened. After a last confirmation from Elena, Jenna and Jeremy, Stefan compelled him to forget everything. He made up some story about the hunter which will help him integrate in Spain, but never return here or contact us. He would remember a phone number, Damon's, if he encountered Katherine.

But that was all.

And just like that John Gilbert, took all of his things and left our lives for good.

Or at least I hoped so.

After that Ric, left with a wordless goodbye. His mood was definitely not the brightest, but then again I couldn't blame the guy.

I was skipping school today, so that left me with the entire day at my disposal. I had a hard time deciding what I should do, but then an idea popped in my head.

Turning towards the brothers I voiced my plea.

"So...do you by chance have a...wall around the house, that...ahh, I can use?" I asked.

"A wall?" repeated Stefan, who looked very confused by my question.

"Yeah, you know, one that has nothing on it, and you would not mind me doing whatever I wanted on it?" Damon snorted.

"I'm afraid to ask what it is all about. But then, I will take the risk." he stared at me. "Should I worry?" I laughed.

"It depends." I said looking at the both. "You've seen my room, no? You know I have it all covered with photos?" Stefan nodded, realization taking over. "Well, I have no more space and I am not such big fan of albums. So...I was wondering if you could...you know...give me one, where I can plaster my most recent prints?" yep, Ad, pull out the cute face!

"You want...want to..." Stefan inclined his head, like a lost puppy, staring at me so gently, like he thought I had lost it.

I grinned. Well, look at the effect I had on the guy!

"It's like plastering those stars on your ceiling that are shining in the dark..." Damon interrupted me.

"Fine, fine!" he stepped closer. "Stefan, stop trying to understand the logic of this weirdo here." he waved at me and I gasped mockingly.

"Hey!" so okay, I didn't hold back the smile, because, hey, the vampire was absolutely right!

"In the library, there is one wall, between the farthest two rafts with Stefan's history books. You can do...whatever you want with it."

"Thank you!" I jumped excitedly. Skipping over the older brother and hugging him with all the strength I had. Which was nothing, but it caught him by surprise so Damon lost a bit of his stance, stepping back so we would not fall.

A second later his strong arms were around me, as I still chanted like a kid in his ear 'Thank you, thank you!'

My goofiness, made him chuckle, but none the less he did not let go of me, till I was the one to step away. Then I ran to Stefan too, and did the same thing with him. It was his house too. The younger Salvatore was better prepared so he had no problem lifting me in the air as I jumped him.

When I was done, I was grinning like a maniac. Those two just had no idea what they brought on themselves.

"Where are you running to?" asked Stefan, as I was almost at the door. Quickly I turned and waved.

"To bring my supplies and get started." I said like it was the most obvious thing, and let's be real, I had nothing better to do then that today.

Twenty minutes later I came back to the boarding house, walking in, like it was my own home. At one hand I was holding the bag with all the photos I wanted to pin, and in the other I had Beluga's leash.

Yeah, I brought the puppy.

The vampires in the house obviously heard the barking, so before I could made a move to enter the library, Damon appeared in front of me. I just knew he was about to open his mouth and say something about the Samoyed, but Beluga outnumbered him, as he pulled so hard, that I lost my hold on him.

The dog ran with all of his might to the raven haired man that stood there surprised by the love the puppy showed him. Beluga started to screech, whine, bark, till Damon lifted him in the air and I have to admit of never seeing the dog so happy in his life.

"You have a fan I see." chuckled Stefan, coming from upstairs, witnessing the exchange.

The most hilarious part was that Damon, the scary murderous vampire, had no idea what to do about it. It was obvious that the man had never had a pet, so patting the fluffy animal in his hold was the most extraordinary thing for him to do.

So yeah, I took a picture of it.

He glared at me, and was about to say something but then the vampire stopped. His eyes getting big, mouth hanging open.

Why?

Beluga licked his face.

Cue, my uncontrollable laugh.

"Stop...stop, Stefan! Help...I...I...c-can't breathe!" I almost pleaded as I was holding on the younger brother for support, because it was impossible to stand on my feet. The blond man next to me, had the same problem, but he had more control over himself.

Both of us ignored the glare Damon send our way.

He huffed in annoyance, not liking being in the center of ridicule, so the vampire let go of the dog, placing him back on the ground.

He was once again ready to say something, or threaten us to stop making fun of him, but Beluga whined once more. This time with such pitiful expression that it could melt the worst person in the world. Damon was affected by it, like anyone, but he straightened his shoulders, locked his jaw and folded his arms. He was fighting a losing battle here.

Then the mini stare down began, as the blue eyed man looked down at the dog with determination not to let him win, while the sad puppy was doing his best to look adorable.

A huff later.

A roll of eyes.

Stefan and I - holding back our sounds.

Another huff.

And the winner was decided. Who?

Beluga, obviously.

Damon groaned quietly, not looking our way, annoyed with himself, with us and with the dog. Then he bent down, took the Samoyed back in his hands and strode in the opposite direction, away from me and Stefan, who had another round of uncontrollable screeching laughter.

Yep.

Damon Salvatore was a sucker for my dog.

After calming down by Stefan telling me that Damon was cursing us on several languages at the moment from upstairs, I made my way to the library.

The younger brother went to find a ladder, while I made myself comfortable and spread all the photos I wanted to put on the wall.

And yes, most of them were …

"Is that me?" asked from behind me the green eyed vampire, holding the said ladder, looking over my shoulder at the ground that was littered with photographs. "And Damon...and..."

There was a swoosh of air, and the other vampire in question stood there, looking as curious as his brother.

"Yeah..." I scratched my head, nervously. Most of the pictures were of the two men, some of my other friends and places I had been, but there were some a lot bigger than the others, and most if not all were portraits I had secretly taken of the Salvatores behind me.

"Wow..." whispered Stefan, eyes big with amazement and wonder, roaming all over the pieces of paper around me. I blushed a little at how speechless both of them were.

"It's not so hard to catch my sexiness on tape...but..." started sarcastically the older man, gloating for a second at the realization that he and his brother were the subject of a lot of my recent art. I was expecting for him to make fun of me, or really to say something that will make me regret bringing those here, but he did nothing like that.

Maybe it was because of the scenes I had captured in those pictures.

There was no doubt how handsome those brothers were, but I didn't want to get that on paper. No. I was more interested in the rare times where they would both drop the act and show raw emotions. It was fascinating to me.

Real smiles.

Real sadness.

Real happiness.

Real amusement.

Real Damon. Real Stefan.

I bet it was interesting to see yourself displaying human emotions, when you have lived for so long and have forgotten how that felt, how that looked.

Well, now they had the possibility to do so.

Maybe that's why they stepped back a bit, each taking a silent seat on the couch near me, watching as I slowly started to work on pining the photos on the wall. They were observing every picture I put.

Some of their eyes.

Some of their lips.

Shadows. Reflections. Actions.

I had a lot.

Just after I had printed them all, did I realize just how many in reality they were.

Strangely I didn't feel ashamed, or regretful. On the opposite, I felt happy, proud, for being able to see and to make it eternal.

Those pictures showed how I saw the brothers. How they presented themselves in my eyes and the longer they looked at them, the more they realized it themselves.

I just hoped that none of them would see the deeper meaning all those papers held for me.

When I was done I turned around and was met with two sets of intense dark full with emotions eyes.

They made my skin burn, they made me shudder and take a deep breath just so I could try to normalize my beating heart.

Maybe.

Maybe they did know meaning behind those pictures.

* * *

"So where are you going?" I asked, laying on my bed, holding the phone in one hand while starting the laptop with the other.

After the whole fiasco at the boarding house, once I was done, I fled from the place as soon as possible. Neither brother stopped me and I was thankful, because I felt that the longer I stayed there, the more I was suffocating.

I had an early dinner with the Gilbert's after returning from my check up on the history teacher. Seeing that he had not killed himself with too much alcohol, I visited the grocery store, from where I picked sleeping pills.

Now I was talking with Bonnie, who was talking about her date tonight with the boy from the vegan cafe. She was getting ready as we spoke, sharing their progress. You know...girl stuff.

The more the witch was sharing the more I was realizing that things were getting serious with this guy. And I for some reason felt a bit protective over the girl on the other side of the call.

While doing a bit of a research on google, I was simultaneously chatting with Care, who agreed to follow Bonnie on this date.

Yep, you heard right. I wanted to see for myself that this boy was treating my friend properly and Caroline Forbes was the perfect companion to do the job.

"So, this new restaurant, have you been there?" I asked the witch.

" _No, but Jake said that the food was great and we didn't need reservations."_ I hmm-ed in response as I texted the blond cheer leader.

' _No reservations needed. They will be there at around eight. - Ad._ '

" _Addie? Did you hear me?_ " brought me back to the conversation Bonnie, as I had paid too much attention on the conspiracy I was making with Care.

"Yeah. I've heard about it, you should definitely take some photos to show us the food after that." I mumbled, clicking on another page in Wikipedia.

After that I searched for the location of a cigarette shop near this restaurant or a 24/7 pharmacy.

Yep, there was one the next street over.

A couple of ideas were already forming in my head. Some about Bonnie's date, other about a move I was planning on making in a few days.

A drastic, life changing move. That will turn the game I was playing one eighty.

If I had the guts to do it.

...

An hour later, Caroline and I watched from my car, as Bonnie and this Jack began their dinner.

"I don't see anything." quipped Jeremy from the back seat.

I let out a low gurgle of annoyance and sent him a glare.

"Then you should have stayed home." I said, but the brat waved me off unconcerned. Care laughed from her seat, amused by our antics.

"It was either take him with us, or he would have tattled us to Bon Bon" said the blond, knowing that I had no choice but to take the boy as he overheard us on the phone.

The nagging idiot wanted in on 'whatever shenanigan' we were planning and I knew it was mostly because he was suspicious that something else was going on. It wasn't because he was curious about the date the witch was having. Jeremy was sure till the last second that we were doing something else, but then the Gilbert was slapped in the face as I parked the car near the restaurant where we were now seeing the couple take a seat on a table next to the big window.

Cue the kid's bitchiness.

"Not my problem that you always think I am up to something evil, Jeremy." I winked mockingly at him and ignored the roll of eyes I got in return.

"So what? We are going to sit here, till they are done?" he asked annoyed.

"Hey, it will be fun!" grinned the cheer leader, feeling like a real time James Bond, bringing a questioning black sack with her. "I haven't done this before." she jumped on her seat, excited and all.

Jeremy murmured something under his breath, puffing out a breath and leaning closer to us.

"Yeah? And what do you see exactly from here...I can barely distinguish their bodies..." he trailed but stopped when Caroline pulled out binoculars. I grinned like a Cheshire cat, while Jer chocked on his own spit. "You ...you brought…?"

"Duh! What a lame stalker would watch his victims without it?" my friend rolled her blue eyes, not realizing how disturbing her words sounded to the poor boy behind us.

Not to me, though. I laughed in glee, taking the said device from her hands and pulling it to my eyes.

"Well, he looks smitten." I commented, seeing how affectionately the guy was looking at my witch friend.

Care shrieked. Jeremy hissed, pulling back, putting hands on his ears while glaring at both of us.

"Let me see! Let me see!" she started to shout greedily.

"Let her see, damn it!" growled Jeremy, thinking I was returning the binoculars way too slow to the blond.

And I was indeed doing that, on purpose, just to annoy the brat even more. I was used to the cheery attitude of the girl, but the emo behind me had no idea what he was getting himself into, when he got in the car.

Hah.

"OMG! You are so right! Look at them! Bon is just as smitten as him!" gushed Care, pushing the devise towards Jeremy, missing with just an inch from giving him a black eye.

The boy glared at her, but Caroline didn't give a shit as she was pulling some kind of clothes from the black sack.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever. Can we go now?" asked after a moment of looking, Jeremy, adorning an expression that was a mix of boredom, fear of the blond and annoyance.

Maybe next time he would just stay home and not butt in my business.

"What is all that?" I asked as I watched Caroline putting on a beige raincoat and a hat….and black sunglasses.

"What the..." chocked Jer leaning as far away from the suspiciously behaving Miss Mystic Falls. The kid sent me a look, telling me something along the lines of.

'Your friend is bat shit crazy, Ad.'

I shrugged.

Because...of course she is, if she wasn't we would not be friends. Duh.

"I'm going to take a closer look." stated the blond as she tied up her coat and pulled out her phone. Then before anyone could say anything she was out of the door.

"One day..." murmured the brat.

"Oh, come on, Jer, Care is smart, she wouldn't so something…." I trailed off, almost forgetting to breath, as the said girl, walked pass the big window, where Bonnie was with her date, phone in hand. It was obvious to everyone that she was filming them.

"Oh..." said the Gilbert seeing the same thing I was seeing.

"Thank God, they did not..." I started, letting out a sigh as Caroline stepped out of sight so no one could catch her from inside the restaurant.

But then she just had to pass once more. Her steps were wide and slow, her body was bouncing up and down. The soundtrack of the Pink Panther movie played in my head.

I wasn't shitting you.

"Fuck...she..."

Then she did it again.

"How the hell is Bonnie not noticing her!?" exclaimed Jeremy. "She is looking like a freaking inspector Gadget!" he waved in disbelieve.

I didn't know if I should laugh my ass off, or hit my head repeatedly on the steering wheel.

Ladies and Gentlemen, this is Caroline Forbes for you!

Finally she got back in the car, jumping with glee.

"Oh! This was so exciting! Did you see me? Did you see how good I was?" she grinned, moving all around her seat.

"Yeah, and I still wonder how we were the only ones." bit Jeremy receiving a glare from the cheer leader in disguise.

"You are just jealous that you have no mad skills like I do!"

"Whatever, I need to go to the bathroom." he stated, huffing like a kid.

And as I was about to give him a piece of my mind, Care rummaged through the magical sack and pulled out...she pulled out…

An… empty bottle of bleach.

"Help yourself." she quipped.

I chocked.

Jer sucked in a breath.

Then I could no longer contain my hysterical laugh.

"Are...are you kidding with me?" the flabbergasted brat almost shouted, while I was still wheezing from the lack of breath.

Fuck, I might be having a seizure!

"Nope." shrugged nonchalant Caroline. "Do you think James Bond always had a luxurious bathroom as his disposal?" she asked seriously.

There was a brief silent pause, in which Jeremy looked at her very hard, then at me, eyes big ready to pop out.

"We are NOT in a James Bond movie, Caroline!"

This was priceless…!

"Don't be such a p..." started the blond but the kid was already getting out of the car. "Where are you going? Come back! You will compromise our mission!" she screeched. Going after him.

I followed, still grinning.

"To use a freaking bathroom, that's where I'm going!" he shouted over his shoulder, glaring daggers at both of us.

"Wait! No! Are you crazy?" she shouted seeing him getting close to the restaurant. "Can you believe the nerve of his?" she turned to me, hand waving in anger.

"Go after him and make sure that we stay unnoticed." I said quickly and Care nodded.

I had the distinctive feeling that the blond would take my advice too seriously...she would most definitely follow him to the man's bathroom.

No doubt.

The moment when they both entered the building I turned left, walking down the street where I saw the sign of the pharmacy. Entering I was greeted by bright light and the smiling faces of two clerks.

"Good evening, what can I do for you?" asked the brunet one.

"I would like to buy two syringes." I stated and was lead to the front desk.

"Will that be all?" asked the woman, after checking the two things and putting them in a plastic bag.

"No, actually. I called earlier today and ordered a bottle of liquid nicotine?" she nodded.

"You are lucky, we already got it. It's for electronic cigarettes right?" I smiled and confirmed her question.

"That will be all."

I was never planning on using the liquid for its original purpose.

Quickly exiting the store, I walked back to the car, where my 'brother' and best friend were arguing about something. I had hid the bag in my purse as I stepped in the vehicle.

"So what's going on?" but before either of them could answer me, my phone beeped, signaling I had a new massage.

 _'You have a lot of explaining to do. - Bonnie.'_

"Shit."

"Abort the mission! Abort the mission! We were compromised!" screamed Care, backslapping the poor Jeremy, who was not fast enough to evade the frantic waving hands of the head cheer leader.

"Ouch!"

"Caroline..."

"No! We should get out as fast as possible!"

I did what she wanted, not willing to lose my ear drums if I was not able to calm her down. I let the brat try and explain to her that we were not followed and that there was no real mission at all.

Just an angry powerful witch.

Nothing special.

 _Snort._

My sweet brother would need ice, though!

* * *

Next morning I was in the kitchen, cooking muffins. I was talking with Bonnie Bennett who was throwing a threat after another, the last one being...

'Do that again, and I will spell you to grow a permanent mustache!'

It was sufficed to say that I promised to not meddle anymore in her dates. Then I retold her what happened and her mood was lifted drastically.

Let's see, the first batch is already in the oven.

The second I was still preparing, adding the flour and separating a small part in another bowl, where I put in the powder of six smashed sleeping pills.

I was a bad person.

I was a really… bad person.

Why?

I was cooking a muffin that will help me kill a person, a living, breathing person…hmm...should I add more sugar to it?

Oh! I will put a flower on top!

"Good morning!" greeted me Jenna, entering the kitchen. I smiled, secretly hiding the bottle of the pills.

"So Jenna? How are you feeling?" I asked, mixing the two mixtures of the desert.

"Oh...you know, I feel good, as good as someone could be, awaiting the biological mother of Elena to show up, who the same time is the ex-wife of the guy I'm seeing and one of the notches on John's belt...and Damon's...yeah..." the aunt trailed of, huffing a bit, shaking her head in disbelieve.

"Yeah, pretty crazy life we have here, no?" I joked getting in return a small chuckle from the woman sitting opposite of me.

"It smells divine!" stated Elena, walking in the room peering at the oven.

"Mind taking those out? They should be ready." I smiled at the doppelganger as I prepared the platter with the next ones to go in.

An hour later, they were all done. One specifically, missing from the bunch on the table.

The red one.

There was a knock on the door and Jeremy let Alaric in. All of us had breakfast together, talking about nothing and everything in between.

Isobel staying away from the discussions.

Till Damon called, that is.

" _We got her."_

"What?" I asked surprised. "What do you mean..." I trailed off, putting the phone on speaker.

" _Sweetheart, what I mean is that Stefan and I have Isobel."_

Elena gasped.

Alaric got still as a stone.

Jenna paled.

Jeremy and I shared a look of shock.

"But...how? What happened?" asked Alaric. I could just feel the vampire rolling his eyes at the dramatic questions, but thankfully Stefan took over.

" _She sent a text to John's phone. We ambushed her in the Lockwood crypt and vervained her. Now she is in one of our cells._ " elaborated the vampire.

"Why didn't you tell me when she got in contact with you!?" I almost shouted.

Hey! I was prepared for the whole action, I wanted to be part of it and definitely did not appreciate being left out. That was Jeremy's role! Not mine.

Ugh…

"We are on our way." I gritted through my teeth, not very happy.

Elena, Alaric and I stood up and left the Gilbert's house after promising to keep Jenna and Jeremy up to date with what was going on. There was a little moment between the hunter and my outer dimensional aunt, too.

You know...the lovey dovey stuff.

'Be careful.'

'Call me as soon as you can.'

'Don't sleep with your ex-wife please.'

Okay...so the last one was not said, but I knew Jenna wanted to. I just did it in her place, which gained me a few set of rolling eyes and one blushing aunt.

She never denied it though!

In the car Alaric and Elena sat rigid, we were engulfed in uncomfortable silence, but I didn't care. Behind them, I barely contained my shaking leg, it was going up and down, up and down, creating this thudding noise in the vehicle. The moment I saw the lines of the boarding house, I was springing out of the still parking car. Ignoring the shouts from shocked Ric, I ran in the old building, my heart beating like it was seconds away from exploding in my chest.

My insides were turning with this sinking feeling. It was not going to disappear before I was reassured that the two men living here were okay.

I didn't know where this panic had come from and I had never anticipated for it to be so strong and consuming. But I didn't fight it. I cared about the brothers, more then I was willing to admit. The game I was playing, the game I was pulling them to be unknowing participants in was deadly. I could not control everything, the more I changed, the more I couldn't predict the outcome of it. So when they called saying that Isobel was with them, I would have fallen over with worry and shock.

In the TV show, those two were always okay, but the dangers here, in this time were different, they were created and forged by me, so if anything happened...it would be my fault. I would be the one to blame.

That's why the moment I saw Stefan, standing there in the parlor, clothes out of order, blood all over him, eyes staring right back at me, I did not stop myself from flinging my whole body on him. I was frantic, barely grasping enough air to say anything, but I willed myself to pull away just before he engulfed me right back in his arms. My hands were roaming his own, then his chest, my fingers grazed his beautiful face, lining every detail on it.

"Oh, my God, are you okay, are you hurt?" I asked, my tone rising with each second. Stefan stood there amazed by my actions, lips slightly parted.

"Addie, I...I'm okay. This is not my blood." the vampire stated, voice gentle like he was talking to a child. Normally I would have been annoyed, but in this moment all I needed was reassurance, confirmation that he was there and I wasn't imagining it. My arms were still holding his cheeks, and I stared right at his green orbs, looking - searching for a lie, but I didn't see any. I didn't see pain...only affection with a sprinkle of surprise. The vampire put his own hands over mine, squeezing them a little, making me let out a content ragged breath of air.

"Thank God..." I whispered and the small whimper escaped me before I could stop it. Stefan's head snapped up, hearing the sound and his eyes filled with so much emotion that I felt weak.

"I did tell you that everything was fine, Adelle." came a voice from behind me and I twirled so fast that a dizziness took over my mind for a second.

Composing myself as fast as I could, I saw Damon standing there, in the same state as his brother, but what made me almost cry was the hole in his shirt just below where his heart was. The strangled noise and the sting in my eyes were no more controllable, I ignored how the raven man had observed the closeness between me and Stefan, with a note of sadness and wistfulness, because I was already running in his arms.

"You...you...no...they almost got you, you idiot!" I blabbered, grabbing the torn material in one hand, while with the other I was feeling his skin, making sure, even if it was stupid and unnecessary that he was healed. The vampire was taken by surprise, not expecting my reaction and he stood there shocked, looking down at me as I acted like a total mess, losing my cool for the first time I had been in this dimension.

"Sweet..." he started but I shook my head, glaring up at him.

"Don't sweetheart me, Damon! What were you thinking? John said that she had vampires with her! Don't….you could..." I had lost the ability to talk, as my eyes roamed all over him, just like I did with Stefan. I was noting and telling myself that he was fine. But that was not enough, I had to feel it, so my hands were holding every place where I saw blood, where the shirt was torn. I was almost afraid to look in his eyes, expecting that he would be angry or annoyed by my spluttering mess, but then he lifted my chin and I had no choice but to lock gazes with him.

There, I saw nothing I had been expecting.

On the contrary, his blue orbs were gentle, light, full...full with adoration and I had to hold back the second whimper that threatened to escape me. I was too emotional, to panicked to have control over my body.

I had lost it the moment they had called.

But I was gaining it back, seeing the small genuine smile gracing the vampire's lips.

"It was nothing we could not have taken care of, Adelle." his voice low, almost a murmur and so gentle. His eyes were swiping over my face going back from my own blue ones, to my lips, over and over again.

I nodded briskly, willing my body to finally cooperate with me as I stepped out of his hold, ordering my limbs to do the same. Clearing my throat I glanced at Stefan who had come to stand just right behind me, effectively caging me between himself and his brother.

"What happened?" threw me out of my trance the teacher that I just now was realizing had seen the whole exchange. The doppelganger and him were looking at us strangely, it was a mixture of disbelieve and confusion.

The moment….whatever the three of us had been trapped in, was broken. Stefan stood tall, Damon masked any emotion apart from disinterest and I tried to slow down my fast beating heart.

"Mother dearest fell in our trap. We captured her in the Lockwood crypt." waved unconcerned the older Salvatore.

"What about the other vampires she was with?" I asked.

"We managed to kill four of them but one escaped." explained Stefan, who was observing my reaction. "From what he said, he isn't planning on coming back."

Great.

"Where is she?" stepped in Elena, glancing at me, before her attention was back on the brothers.

"Down in the basement in the cell. She is knocked out by the vervain and even when she wakes up she won't be able to get out." answered the younger vampire.

"Yep, you'll have to wait till morning to have the family reunion, I'm afraid." quipped sarcastically the raven haired man, getting in return two sets of glares from the hunter and the Gilbert girl.

I held back a snort. Stefan rolled his eyes.

"Where do you think you are going?" the blue eyes vampire asked annoyed as Elena was marching towards the door leading to the basement. Followed by Alaric.

"I want to see her." was the only thing she said, already descending down the stairs.

"So dramatic." scoffed Damon.

"You can't really blame her." added Stefan, going towards the alcohol table. He prepared two glasses of whiskey, wordlessly giving one to his brother, who nodded in return.

I let out a deep breath, sitting down on one of the couches, threading fingers through my hair. They still shook a little.

"You should have told me what you were about to do." I said after a brief pause, gaining their full attention even if I had the feeling that their eyes never left my being even for e split second.

"Didn't want to worry you, Addie." tried to explain Stefan but I snorted, waving him off.

"Yeah? And how did that work out in the end?" I asked referring to my almost break down minutes ago. The brothers shared a look, which I had no energy to decode.

"This was nothing, sweetheart, Stefan and I had gone through a lot worse." stated Damon, his words trying to be reassuring but having the opposite effect. I stood up abruptly, staring at both of them not holding the glare I was sending their way.

"Oh, I am certain of that, Damon. In those times, though, was there someone who would be worried about you two if something happened?" I asked, but did not let either answer me. "Did you have someone who would have been devastated and...and...broken, if you were to be hurt...or worse? Killed?" Damon's eyes narrowed, Stefan looked rigid. "I know that it may come as a surprise for you, but I do care about you both, I wish nothing bad would happened to you...and...today, on my way here, all I could imagine was you two … hurt, wounded...it made me sick!" I wasn't letting my voice waver, I wanted to stay strong till I was finished. "I lost my damn composure and fucking control, Damon, Stefan!.." taking a deep breath I shook my head, trying to clear it from all the grotesque images. "Fuck..."

"When I called, I said we were fine, Adelle." told me Damon, stepping a little closer.

"So you see my point?" I extended my hand referring to both of them "Even if I knew you were okay, I still lost it, I still had a hard time breathing, before I was certain you two were really unharmed..."

Stefan sped to me, standing inches away, gazing down but not daring to touch me.

"I'm sorry that we made you worry so much, Ad." the vampire said sincerely.

"I..." Nodding. "I know, I shouldn't have … gone so far." I admitted.

"Then why did you?" asked Damon who came to stand next to his brother, he too was looming with his impressive dominating form.

I could see it, they wanted answers, they needed it. But what could I tell them? What I was feeling exceeded the affections of friendship, but how could it be possible that those emotions were dedicated for not one of them, but for both? It wasn't normal, but the longer I stayed here the stronger it became.

This longing.

This desire to...to be just there with them, around them, for them.

"I...I can't imagine myself without both of you being there, okay?" I admitted, feeling a blush creeping on my cheeks which made me look away.

"Adelle..."

Don't know who said it, but I was thankful they were interrupted as Ric and Elena came back up. Both sporting grave expressions. Even if the vampire downstairs was unconscious, it must still have been very hard for them.

Seeing that as opportunity to change the subject, to escape whatever was going on, I stepped towards Elena and hugged her.

"Everything is going to be okay." I told her, trying to be reassuring, but for who exactly?

Me or her?

"Will you be there tomorrow, when I could speak with Isobel?" asked the doppelganger as we pulled away from each other. I smiled as much as I could, nodding.

"Of course."

"I have some questions." stated Ric, attention on the Salvatores.

"Yeah, yeah. Just get it over with." Damon rolled his eyes, sparing me a look, before taking a seat on the sofa, Stefan still standing.

I stepped away from the group, excusing myself to go to the toilet, as it was the best moment to sneak away from all of them. No one questioned me. I knew Stefan wanted, but thankfully he let me go, probably thinking I needed I moment alone.

Making sure no one saw me, I went downstairs. There I neared the cell, where now laid the unmoving vampire and after a brief pause of hesitation I opened the door. Quickly I pulled the syringe from the bag I was carrying and took one of her hands. The fear of the deadly vampire waking up, was making my body shake, but I pushed it all back, in the name of my plan.

I had watched a few videos...yeah, you heard right, videos of how to take blood from someone's vein. I was never good with needles so the uncomfortable prickles that ran over my skin were not a surprise to me. Taking few deep breaths I pushed the tip of the syringe and then pulled it's top. I was almost surprised when the blood started to flow in the container and when it was full I quickly, hid it back in my purse.

It was just in time and I was damn lucky, because when I was done I heard footsteps and Stefan's voice filled the small dirty space.

"What are you doing here, Addie?" the vampire asked, stepping in the cell, eyes not leaving the body next to me, making sure that Isobel would not wake up and attack us.

Thinking quickly for an excuse, I lifted the hand I was still holding.

"I thought it would be a good idea to take her day light ring." I said, pulling the jewelry from her finger.

"It's not safe for you to be here alone." the vampire said and I nodded, very much agreeing with him and then I followed him out of there.

Thankfully, not long after I left with Elena and Ric. The teacher dropped us in the Gilbert's house, where the doppelganger told the rest of the family what had happened and then called Bonnie to inform her as well.

Few hours later I found her laying in her bed, eyes staring at the ceiling. I knocked once, which gained her attention.

"Jenna will be staying at Alaric's place tonight." I told her. "Jeremy is at some kind of party with Lucy."

"So it's just us?" she asked.

"I ordered pizza." that made her laugh. "Yeah, I won't be eating it, but you definitely deserve something unhealthy." winking I pulled a bottle of whiskey from behind me, where I had it hidden.

"Are you proposing what I think you are right now?" the girl grinned, her mood lifting a bit.

"Get drunk? Yes. Brilliant right?" we were laughing after that and without much fight the doppelganger took the glass I had extended in her direction.

Two hours later, pizza box laying next to us, we were half drunk in the middle of another pointless conversation that led us to the next fit of giggles.

It was either that or talking about the meaning of life. Elena was funny when intoxicated.

"Hey! Do we still have some of those muffins you made?" jumped excitedly the older Gilbert. I grinned and sprang from the bed, running down stairs picking two of the deserts. When I was back in her room, Elena was already grabbing one of them, taking big bites from it.

"Oh! This red one is so delicious!" my outer dimensional sister stated, continuing on eating the only red muffin I had made today.

"Yeah?" I asked, taking a deep breath and forcing an amused expression on my face. I watched as Elena ate it fast, dancing around the room with no music on.

My facade of a drunk teenager slowly faded. I was no more playing along with her, seeing at how the girl's movement became more uncoordinated, her speech slowed down and soon enough she was sleeping on her bed. I waited a minute, just standing there, my heart was beating in my ears, pounding in my chest. The bag I had left next to her door was then opened and like in a trance I pulled out the syringe full with the red liquid.

The next moments were lost to me as I remember only nearing the unconscious body and injecting the blood in the system of the human girl.

Then I had in my hands the second syringe that was filled with a clear substance. Nicotine.

A deadly dose of liquid nicotine, that when mixed with a lot of alcohol and numerous sleeping pills … it was…

Yeah...

I didn't know I was crying until a tear fell on my hand. I was shaking as I was holding the pale wrist of the girl I came to care about. Of the girl that was my sister here.

The girl I was robbing from the chance of a normal human life.

Before my vision could blur out completely, lips trembling, I pushed the needle in her vein, a whimper escaping me as I injected the poison in her system.

God, I barely kept it together.

The syringe dropped, clinking on the floor as I could not tear my eyes from the peaceful face of the sleeping brunet.

She would not feel a thing.

There would be no pain.

One moment she would be breathing.

The next moment she would not.

A minute. It only took a minute.

Her heart was no more beating.

Pulse nonexistent.

I just killed Elena Gilbert.


	11. Chapter 11

Disclaimer

I do not own Vampire Diaries. The O.C. is my only original character.

This story will follow the series to some extend, there will be a lot of changes and you will find a partial O.O.C. here.

It will be rated **[M]** for future chapters and yes it will be a **Menage love story/P** **olygamous relationship** , if you don't like please don't read.

I welcome constructive criticism and if you would like to help me with that, please write me a P.M.

 **[!]** Comments. Follows. Any kind of support is highly appreciated. No kidding, it does give the motivation to update faster!

* * *

Chapter 11

How Damon lost and found himself only to loose it all once more.

Or how he started to feel again.

Wishing he never did.

* * *

The void.

* * *

As time passes you tend to not notice the small things. The changes around you are no longer that significant and it all blurs in one single line. Death. It would sound way too poetic and I shudder at the mere thought of sounding like my brother, but there was no other way to describe it. My life started and ended at the moment I met Katherine Pierce. Through the century I had forgotten a lot, years and years are just that, time, nothing else. But the memory of meeting her would be forever burned in my mind.

It's funny because when I was still human, I remember being left speechless and completely captivated by that woman. The second she looked at me I knew that my world would turn upside down. I just wasn't aware of how much it would. All my life till then I had been under the order of my father. The same man would beaten me for not being his perfect son like Stefan. The more he hated me, the more I tried to please him. I even went to war, fought for a cause I did not believe in. I let him restrict me from anything real I ever wished of having, in order to break me and to become the fellow servant he wanted to have.

Name was everything for Giuseppe Salvatore, respect, order and power too. I saw that he would do anything to protect those values, he had done many despicable things, he had become a monster that I was able to recognize the older I got. And the more I grew up the more I tarnished all of his values. I had stopped respecting him. I had stopped following his orders. And I did everything to mock and disrespect his power. It would have kept on going like this if he hadn't turned towards Stefan. He was just a kid back then, a kid that looked at his bastard of a father like he was his hero, like he was his role model. And Giuseppe used the willingness of my brother to please him as a way to manipulate both of us. Stefan always tried to live up to the expectation of father, he succeeded in his studies, he followed the rules, he never talked back. He was the perfect son, the perfect servant.

I wasn't. And I proved it with each passing day. The beating didn't phased me, with time you get used to everything, this too. But then the head of the family turned his hand towards my little brother, the drinking got worse and I had no other option but to listen to him in order to protect Stefan. My sibling looked up to me as well. I remember us being so close that he was the only person I cared for, I would do anything for. The bond we shared was the thing keeping me from getting the hell away from this toxic house, from this evil man I had no choice but to call father. I could not leave Stefan, not when he would be the replacement of our father's wrath when something didn't go the way he wanted.

So I took every punishment, I followed every order. The longer I did it, the more every warm feeling I had went away. I had become half the man I was, even if I knew that all the of bruises, all the harsh words told by him, could not really break me, I still new that sooner or later I would become the prisoner to the one person I had tried so hard to run away from. The times were like that, you had to do whatever you are told by your parents, you had to marry someone you didn't know, you didn't love. Then you had to have children and continue your family's business. That was it. A straight line, a path you had no choice but to follow. And I hated it, I hated it all.

The freedom I desired was getting farther and farther away from my grasp and I was letting it happen.

But that's when she showed up. Katherine was the thing that represented everything I craved, everything I ever wanted. She was beautiful, smart, adventurous and had opinion on everything. She wasn't afraid to speak her mind, she wasn't following the rules that every respected woman had to. No, she was a breath of fresh air. Air that I didn't know I was missing, air that showed me I was suffocating and without it, I might die. And I fell in love it, her, with what she could give me, that she could help me escape the prison I was finding myself being in.

For once I thought I had a chance of happiness.

The human me was a romantic, he easily fell for her charm, and as fast as I did it, as hard and deeply it was too. The emptiness was starting to fill, so I clanged to her, I did everything I could to spend time with her, I even overlooked how she wasn't interested only in me, but my brother too. I never thought of the consequences this triangle would bring to the relationship I had with Stefan. The one I cherished the most in my life.

But then love is pain, love makes you blind. Love makes you loose yourself.

It didn't bothered me, the secrecy, the lies, that I had to share her, that she made me feel like I was never enough. Because I knew I didn't deserved her, she was too good to be true and even if it hurt, even if it tore me apart to see her laughing with my brother, share her bed with him as well, I endured it. I endured it, because I was ready to pay any prize just so she could be mine for the hours through the night.

I was optimistic fool as well. I believed that if Katherine saw how much I loved her, how I could accept her all, she would choose me over my younger brother. She would deem me as enough. That's how Stefan and I started to drift apart. I saw him as competition, I saw him as someone ready to take away the only thing that made all this hell I lived in worth it. He had the love of father, he was the perfect son, the perfect student, he had it all. Why couldn't he just give me this one thing? This one piece of happiness?

The competition then turned in to hatred, to betrayal, it transformed in to harsh words, in fights. Katherine basked in the glory of being the cause of it. She liked us fighting for her, she liked tearing us apart. She was selfish, but even knowing that I could not let her go, even if I saw it I could not choose my brother over her.

When she showed me her real self, I was more ecstatic then afraid. She shared with me a secret, she trusted me with it and I felt so much closer to her. Katherine didn't had to compel me to not say a word, I was ready to spend my life with her, even if that meant eternity as well. I would be free of the clutches of the man I hated with all my heart.

But then things didn't go as I thought. The Salvatore's were part of the founding council of the town, they were vampire hunters and they did what they did best. They ambushed all the eternal beings the night when I thought I had lost the woman I loved.

It was one chaos that I blamed entirely on my brother.

Then him and I were shot by Giuseppe and woke up in transition. At the time I believed Katherine was dead and I wished of nothing more then to follow her. But Stefan being Stefan he could not let that happen and did the second reason I promised him an eternity of misery. What we might have had before was long tarnished after that night. We were no longer the same people, we were no longer close. The emotions of being a vampire are magnified so the sorrow, the feeling of being lost and betrayed, the knowledge that the woman I gave my life for was locked in a tomb and I could not do anything but wait to get her back...it made me snap.

That's when it all became too much, I could not handle it, I didn't want to. I had decided that my life had no meaning till I got Katherine back. While I waited I had no real purpose and I didn't need to feel at all. So I turned it off. I made it my mission to ruin every chance of happiness Stefan would have in the future century and half like he did that night of the fire.

And what else was I supposed to do? I dedicated my time on searching how to open the tomb, on drinking, blood and sex. I don't even remember how many I had killed, I don't remember how many times I had barged in and made Stefan regret ever being born my brother. But it didn't matter, nothing did. I couldn't care less, all of it was a way to fill my time, till I got what I wanted. That was my only reason.

There was a void in me, in my heart, in my soul and I believed that once I got Katherine it all would go away, all of it would be worth it. I believed that this emptiness was going to be filled once and for all by her and only her.

So I didn't mind waiting. Because what did a vampire had but an access to unlimited time in his hands?

* * *

The strange girl.

* * *

It was finally time, the stupid comet would pass by and I could finally open the tomb. I could finally get what I wanted. It was mere coincidence that my dear brother was in town too, but I had no problem with it. One more possibility to have fun with him.

What awaited me there was more then my own blood. It was a human girl that looked just like Katherine. The resemblance was astonishing and I had for a moment thought it was her. But then her heart was beating, her voice was different, her whole presence was a palpable excuse to what the real thing was. Elena Gilbert was beautiful, but she didn't posses the same flame, the passion and allure her vampire version did. She was just a copy that could never even come close to the real deal.

But I still had to know how this was possible. So I observed. My brother was just as curious as me, and as he was trying to avoid me at any cost and was not one bit prepared for what I got in store for him, he and I had the same interest in the human look alike. It was almost comical and pathetic because of the way life could joke with us. One way or the other things were repeating. But this time I had no problem in giving the copy to him, as I was here to take the original one, the woman I waited for a century and a half.

That's when I met her.

I knew that Elena had a younger druggy brother and closed off sister. I had little interest in either of them, so I never bothered coming close, that changed the night when Stefan decided to play teenager and enroll for the hundred time in high school. It was amusing how my brother clanged to his humanity, denying the true and what he was in reality. But then I couldn't blame him, he did it to be closer to the copy.

Or that was what I thought at first. A few times I saw him staring not at Elena but at her sister. I was expecting from him to be already putting his tortured soul and sad looks at work to get to the Gilbert but he wasn't doing anything of the sort.

I understood why, at the night of the first sad excuse of a party that the hormonal kids threw. After the snack I had with one of the humans, leaving her on purpose alive as a way to trouble my brother I was at the only bar in the small town. That's when I saw the descendant of Emily, witch blood traveling in her veins. It was fun to listen to her cheer leader friend complain over Stefan's rejection as I was seeing in her the blood bag I needed if I was going to stay undetected in this town with an acting council.

Some things never changed.

That's when she barged in. Adelle Gilbert. Striding confidently, demanding attention from everyone, even if she didn't notice it. Her silver hair and big blue eyes lightning the room, catching and alluring.

She was gorgeous and her blood smelled divine.

The moment I saw her I knew she was nothing like her sister, she wasn't polite, she wasn't prim and proper. No. She was wild, she did what she wanted, she said what she wanted and did not give a damn about what people would think of her. And I liked the fire in her, I was always attracted to those type of women. Even if I preferred the easily manipulated ones, I could never stay away from a challenge. And Adelle proved to be one.

I wasn't bashful like my brother. I damn well knew that every woman wanted me. It was part of being a vampire, the mystery, the danger. But with the added looks I had, I knew that it would never be really hard to get what I wanted. So imagine my surprise when this human girl did not look affected by me. Her heart did not sped up, she did not blush, she barely spared me a look. The human only spoke with me for a moment, like it was a task for her she willed herself to do and be over with.

No one had ever done that. No one.

She didn't even bat an eyelash when I flirted with her. And I willed myself to not compel her, because I wanted for the first time to do it the hard way.

Then when she shouted at her friend, the Bennett witch no less, I knew that I have met a woman that was fiery, that was opinionated and strong headed. She was a burning inferno. A storm. And the fact she was strikingly beautiful was just a bonus.

So I knew why my brother was drawn to her so much.

* * *

Interest.

* * *

When the comet passed, I was ready to open to tomb. All I needed was to make one of the two Bennett witches do what I wanted. And get the crystal. But for some reason I wasn't in a hurry, now that I had a real chance, now that I could finally get Katherine, I was stalling. What I convinced myself in believing was that I had too much fun making Stefan's life in this lousy town a misery. I could clearly see his interest in the younger Gilbert and I was planning on destroying any chance he had with her.

So I was provoking him. I wanted him to snap and stop with the awful diet he was having, eating animals and being half the vampire he could be. It irritated me to no end how my little brother wanted to be human, and did everything imaginable to deny the monster inside of him.

And cue the tortured appearance that for some reason girls would dig and the poetic dark entries in his beloved journals. If I ever felt like feeling depressed I would only read one page from his girly diaries. But that was Stefan for you, he always cherished the memories, even the insignificant ones, when for me they were all a blur and a past that soon would be forgotten.

One of our fights ended to be at the night of the comet. I was getting to him, I was slowly pushing him towards the moment he would break and the good pathetic behavior he was so proud of was going to vanish. It didn't happen the way I wanted, because just like I knew where to hit, Stefan knew my weaknesses as well.

We were brothers after all.

Things would have escalated if it wasn't for the almost unnoticeable click of a camera going of near us. And there was the same outspoken girl that had made me curious for the first time since a century and more. She was holding the said device, looking pleased like she had done something very good, which I found out was taking a picture of me and Stefan.

For vampires, photographs were a thing we did not indulge in making. They were incriminating and the more incognito one was, the longer he would live. But the more surprising thing was that the human girl didn't give a damn about the fight going on in front of her, she didn't seemed bothered that Stefan and I were steps away from jumping one other. She wasn't even curious. And the interest I felt for her grew.

Because she was the first person to not butt in my business. To not seem one bit affected.

And let's not forget the fact that she had slapped Stefan the day before that, because he had hurt her friend's feelings. And anyone that made my little brother look like a lost puppy was good in my books and would live longer then I was first planning on.

Secretly I was feeling satisfied that Stefan's advances had not worked on her, just like mine haven't.

* * *

Curiosity.

* * *

The interest then turned in to curiosity, so I invited myself to some gathering in the Gilbert house hold. I was killing two birds with that too. Stefan was terrified that now I had an invited in the last house he wanted me to be in, and I had another opportunity to get a closer look at the interesting girl that lived there.

Caroline Forbes was my first choice of a blood bag in this town as her insecurities and low self esteem would facilitate my control over her. But she was wearing vervain, which meant that her mother was doubting me and Stefan. So I had to stay away from her, at least till I had what I wanted. The next best thing was Vicki Donovan, she was a druggy yes, but with little compulsion her two dogs would back off as well.

The night at the human's house was different per say. I did whatever I was there for. I riled my brother and threw in a few partial facts about his past, which left him anything but comfortable. I always enjoyed destroying his peaceful living. But then Adelle was ones more uninterested, she even looked bored then. The human girl had the guts to call me out on my bulshit.

So the curiosity I never thought could make it's way in me, burned my insides to know her better, to see what made her so different.

I wasn't even minding anymore that where I was going was a path I was not ready for, I didn't realized the consequences of either.

* * *

Consider it all over again.

* * *

At the Lockwood dinner and heritage display I was finally able to get my hands on the crystal that would help me in my plan.

Stefan was snooping in my business too much already and knew I was up to something more then to torment him. But thankfully his fascination with the silver haired girl was growling fast and his attention was mostly on her, so he didn't posses a danger. It was amusing to read his journal entries, as my poor brother lacked the creativity to hide it from me. I saw that gradually his feeling grew for Adelle and I had my proof when they came in through the doors of the kitsch Lockwood's entry. He could not tier his eyes from her, and a lot of other people had the same problem as him.

This was the first time I was left dazed from her presence. The way Adelle was dressed added to her natural aura that demanded attention. It really made it hard for me to keep my face from transforming. You could imagine my surprise by my own reaction as I had no valuable reason to be affected so much by a mere human. I loved Katherine, I knew that, but there was something in that girl that didn't let me stay away.

And when was I ever someone to deny myself anything?

I had another chance to embarrass Stefan in front of her, I used it to make her doubt him, to make her question him and rise up problems as I knew Stefan couldn't tell her the true. What I got in return was being waved off and made fun that I wasn't man enough to dance with my partner for the night. Adelle Gilbert was provoking me, she knew it, she showed me that I can't manipulate her like the others. She wasn't affected by my words and could do the same thing as me.

Most of all, she didn't want to be in the middle of a 'sibling spat'.

Later that night, was something that I would remember for a long time. I was midst of riling Stefan once again, this time sure of his soft spot being the human girl, when the same girl stepped in between us. There was something different about her, though. Adelle was oozing this energy, she was almost dancing instead of walking. Her eyes were brighter, her smile was mischievous, like she was high. She danced around us, almost skipping over the lake in the backyard of the Lockwood's mansion and with no fucks given, took off her heels and stepped in the cold water.

Stefan was just as surprised as I was, but while he was trying to understand her actions, I had no will to speak and could only watch as the girl twirled around the water, splashing it around her, hair bouncing from the breeze. The moon was illuminating her, making her appear like she wasn't real, that what I was seeing was a mirage or a mystical creature, because she looked... I was captivated, her beauty for the first time rendering me unmoving.

The free spirit she was letting us see, was another part of her that drew me to her. She had no problem of destroying the office of the mayor just because he was an ass to his son, who came out to be her best friend. For a moment, while she spoke about what a bastard he was to his flesh and blood, I was lost in the memory of my own father and strangely enough I wondered what it would have been like if Adelle was there. If we were friends, would she be as protective of me as she was to the quarterback? Would I have had another person accept Stefan to keep me going and enduring?

The brief wistfulness almost brought me to my knees, because what the hell was I thinking? Since when did I start remembering the time when I was a pathetic human being? And why was I adding her in it too?

That made me angry and just as I was planning on getting the hell away from there, the human girl hit another nerve. She spoke about sibling relationship. And all I could do was to stand there and listen. Even if I had willed myself to not snap her neck I wouldn't have accomplished it either, because for some reason when Adelle Gilbert spoke, her tone serious, her eyes penetrating yours, you could do nothing but obey and relish in her words.

For someone who denied anything to do with me and Stefan's problems she described it as accurate as one could do. While talking about her sister and herself she somehow made me think it over, consider the relation between me and my brother. For some reason her words had value, had power over my mind and I found myself actually accepting them, I found myself imagining what it would look like if me and Stefan had back what we used to share when we were human.

The prospect was in the same time alluring and strangely terrifying because I knew I was starting to feel, letting emotions creep inside of me. All of which I wished nothing to do with.

Because family? I had lost it long time ago. After everything I had done, everything that had happened and what was about to happen, something as brotherhood wasn't real. Wasn't achievable. I wasn't ready to forgive. I wasn't willing to forget and let go. I wasn't going to apologize and trust.

Not as I was so close on getting Katherine.

* * *

The real smile.

* * *

As time passes, some things that you don't do often or at all, actions you have no reasons to be making, become foreign to you. Turning the switch of, normal human reactions, genuine and almost a reflex ones, you tend to forget them. You reach the point where you forget how it's done, how it works and how...how it feels.

So when it happens the surprise of the now distant memory coming back makes you consider some things.

What I'm talking about is the shock I felt when I realized I was fucking smiling. Yes. Let's say that my smirk was my signature look that made the women fall in my feet and Stefan fume like a kid. Smiling? That was for someone that actually had emotions. So why the hell was I doing it?

Adelle.

This was the answer to a lot of the strange things and actions I found myself committing as of lately. Like the human girl was the sole reason I was starting to act like Stefan. The worst part was that I caught myself in the act way to late, which made me even more confused, because I was Damon freaking Salvatore and if there was something I excelled in it was control.

But from the looks of it, it became harder and harder to do that in her presence.

Halloween was the proof of it. It was one of my favorite nights of the year, where girls dressed as little as possible and the options to feast on were unlimited. Let's not forget how amusing it was to see humans dressed and acting like vampires.

So when the Gilbert girl barged in the boarding house, all willing to force Stefan to participate in the festivities, I had no problem with it. It was fun to watch him squirm and feel uncomfortable by the demanding human and surprisingly Adelle had a sense of humor that pleased me.

I don't know how from ridiculing Stefan, I found myself wearing kitty ears and taking a photo with the silver haired strange girl and my brother. And to add to the fact I was smiling. Not only for the camera, but...in general.

And damn it if it didn't feel strange and I wanted to get the hell away from there. Because the whole interaction between the three of us, was too normal, too friendly and human for it to be good and for me to let it happen. But I did stay, even knowing that it was not the best idea, I let myself be persuaded by Adelle to go to a freaking high school party no less.

Worse, I was having fun which for the first time, since I was a vampire, didn't include drinking blood, sex or making Stefan miserable.

That night I knew I was definitely loosing the control I was so proud of possessing.

* * *

Intrigue.

* * *

Soon after that, I let myself admit that I was intrigued by Adelle Gilbert. Not only because of the interest Stefan had for her, not only because she was beautiful and didn't give in to me. But because she was bringing features in me that were long ago forgotten, she pushed feelings to resurface, even if the switch was still there.

Normally if I knew someone was playing with my humanity and was forcing it to come back I would have long ago snapped their neck and be done with it. But once again when it came to that girl, what I was used to doing was replaced by actions that were foreign to me.

Or maybe it was all because Adelle Gilbert had no idea about the effect she had on me or my brother.

No matter how smart she was, how sharp her brain worked she never saw it, and this naivety, that I was sure she had no idea of possessing was the thing that made me stop from doing anything drastic.

I couldn't will myself to harm her, what she was bringing in me, was addicting, and the fact I couldn't stop thinking about her added to the fact that actually killing her was an act I could not see myself doing. And I was still so far away from figuring her out, which made me want to spend more time with her.

* * *

Trusting.

* * *

The thing that showed me I was loosing my shit all together was the moment when I decided to trust Stefan and agree to his help. The second I told him what my reason was to be here in the first place, many possibilities flew through my mind of how he could stab me in the back. That I will regret it in the end. And who was I kidding, if I was in my brother's place I would be considering options of how to get back at me for screwing with him so many years. But we made a deal to start over once he helps me. New slate, no more stabbing, no more making life miserable.

And I agreed, strangely enough, it wasn't so hard to do it. Yes I had my fun with this promise of mine, but even things like that start to get old with each decade. I got tired at some point but despising him was a lot easier then to forgive him. And let's be real, making my brother hate me had become of a reflex of mine.

But not anymore. It was getting harder and harder, I was realizing that I was pushing myself to make him feel like shit and the longer I staid in this stupid small town, the more I didn't want to do it anymore. So really, I agreed because I was gaining a lot in return, not from the good of my heart.

Still, the suspicion I held, the doubt that kept me alive so long, could not go away that easy. That was when I made the decision to get a mediator and who was better for the job then the sweet Adelle, who somehow made both of us listen to her? That was my official story, but the real reason was that I wanted to see her reaction. I could easily keep my brother on leash, making sure he would do nothing to compromise my plans, but I still used this as an excuse to feed my curiosity towards the human girl.

Up to this moment Adelle Gilbert had been accepting of everything regarding my spat and relationship with Stefan. But with the new revelations the anticipation was too strong for me, and I was burning from the inside to see her crumble. Stefan being the hero and the good guy tried to stop me, he was more afraid then interested, because his chance with her could vanish the moment we told her the true.

Strangely enough non of this happened. This crazy being knew all about it and was okay with it. She knew from the start what we were, and still kept being around me, around Stefan. To say I was surprised was misunderstanding. I can't remember the last time I was so gobsmacked by a human. It astonished me, as much as it angered me.

How could she be so indifferent to this? Didn't she know what we were capable of? So I pushed myself even if I didn't really felt like it, to show her, to scare her, to disgust her. I told her every bad thing I've done, Stefan has done, that came to my mind, with the hope she would show anything but acceptance. But the hell with it, she just shrugged and once more demonstrated her deranged moral compass of how if it wasn't someone she cared for, it didn't matter.

I wanted to doubt her, I wanted to lash out, shout and shook her. Who the hell reacts like that?

Didn't Adelle know that she wasn't helping her fucking case? Didn't she realized that the more she acted like this, the more I wanted to tell her everything, to share with her, to confide my secrets, because this feeling of not being judged was so foreign to me, that I felt like Stefan when he was still human.

And fuck it, I was Damon Salvatore! I didn't need someone to talk to! I was fine, perfectly fine by myself. It is a lot easier to be hated, you don't have to live up to some stupid expectations and when you fail you don't feel like the lowest of them all. But then again Adelle had no expectations from me, she didn't expect me to be a bunny eater or to stop killing. She was fine with it!

How the hell was I supposed to stay away from her, when she made me feel so...so fucking free to be myself around her?

* * *

Infuriating.

* * *

One thing was certain, I had never met someone more infuriating then Adelle Gilbert. Yeah, Stefan had his moments where he put his hero hair on and made me want to bash his head on the wooden table in the parlor, but this girl was really testing my limits.

Till now I had not compelled her. After adding her to my plans, I knew for certain she was wearing vervain and that was too out of question. But before that? What stopped me? Adelle was secretive, she did whatever and whenever she wanted and hardly shared this strange and out of nowhere trips out of town. She was always carrying old books and made calls to people that from what I knew were professors with different knowledge.

The more I tried to find out what she was up to the more I found myself in the possession of numerous questions.

The worst part was she never listens to anyone. I had it with her in more then several occasions when she blatantly ignored my orders, when she didn't give a fuck what I wanted to say to her, and till now no one had the guts to do that.

So I was fuming, and the realization of it made things even more infuriating.

And that did not help me keep Adelle out of my mind.

* * *

Fear.

* * *

With the decades I had learn that fear was getting you killed. Well that and a lot other emotions, but this one in particular.

Some will say that it was exactly that thing that made you survive, but I had to object. Fear made the clarity in you mind get foggy, it made you do unreasonable actions that you would have avoided at all cost if your head was straight.

Especially when that fear wasn't for yourself and for your well being but for someone else.

Yes. I had long lost the ability to be afraid that something will happen to me, I had long ago accepted that if I died, then fine, nothing I could really do about it and definitely not worth the drama.

But being afraid for someone else? Well that was something damn near alien-like thing for me. Because why should I wastе my time and energy on someone who had a head on his shoulders and was responsible for his own shit? Why? And I wasn't really. And I was certain it would stay like that.

But of fucking course, Adelle had this annoying ability to turn over a lot of the believes and established rules I lived by for century and half. Fear was for sure one of them.

I had a very well thought and effective way of getting what I wanted. It was called persuasion and the method I used to reach it was by making threats. Yes. Easy and not requiring a lot of preparation. This time I wanted to make the Gilbert girl with silver hair, that strangely suited her, to listen to what I said. Adelle had ones again made me reach my limits with her ignoring my orders. She was late for a meeting and on top of it was pushing my buttons. So I threatened her that if she didn't start behaving I was letting her fall from the roof top of the boarding house.

Normal reaction, you see, is for her to start begging, crying and promising submission. The vampire inside of would be pleased with that… a lot.

But once again I was proven wrong and that Adelle Gilbert had something screwed in her brain that prevented her from having any surviving instincts.

She was fucking terrified, I knew she hated heights and Stefan was on the brick of lashing out, I wasn't really going to harm her, but she didn't know that. And even if her heart was beating almost too fast for it to be healthy and her face was pale and her hands were shaking, the crazy girl stubbornly started to lecture me.

Me.

I had to respect her, I had to start trusting her, I had to accept that we were friends and that she was willingly helping me.

Me.

To prove her point she jumped from the frigging roof top. And I let her. For a moment I let her fall, because I could not believe that in this sick world existed a living breathing creature that would go to such lengths to gain my respect and trust. I could not believe that there was someone willing to do this for me.

Me.

And when Adelle really did it...all I knew was that I was a goner, that she had won and what she wanted was already a reality. Then the realization she was reaching the bottom made me lash out. Made me almost loose it, because the devastating fear I felt for the first time in my life was too much, too consuming and I could not think of anything else but her safety.

That scared me shitless.

Fuck. I can still remember how deafening it was, how all I could see, hear, sense and think was her. Her. And the moment I had her in my hands was the only remedy to the dooming insanity that was knocking on my door.

What I noticed next, was Stefan, and he was no better then I was. And that was the moment I knew we were both loosing it.

* * *

The cataclysm.

* * *

The tomb. Katherine. It was all I could think for over a century, my only reason to be still living. What I did, it was always with keeping in mind my main goal. Funnily it was the reason I was here and even if I knew the importance of it, even if I knew what it would mean when opened, I was not prepared for what happened there.

But why should I really remember it?

The main thing was that. Yes, all I wanted was to open that tomb. I did. I accomplished it.

Was Katherine there? Well, no. That's it ...I had achieved my purpose. What followed after that was life. The shitty life that laughed at everyone's misery. And that asshole must have had a seizure with what I got.

Did it hurt? Did I felt betrayed? Was I left with no meaning? Yes. It broke me. It fucking irreversibly destroyed me. But then, when did I ever got the girl? When what I sacrificed was ever enough? When was I ever enough?

The best part? I was locked in that forsaken place with my little brother and the girl that kept tormenting my sanity.

But then, I didn't have that anymore, either. So what was I complaining about? But why was I even surprised? When things ever got the way I wanted them to? I should be amused by what I found in the tomb, or the lack of it, but me and Stefan had more in common then I was ever willingly admitting.

Why? Because I felt lost, I felt … I felt everything. And it was anything but good.

That was my cataclysm.

* * *

Switching it on.

* * *

And you know, one moment I felt nothing. The next my switch was completely turned on. And the overwhelming wave of emotions hit me like nothing before. Good thing I had over twenty vampires to lash out on.

Or my control would have broken and Stefan was going to be the one to get it. Adelle too. I was better off left alone, but that was not possible and even if I would never admit it, being locked in that place, with those two there, stepping on their toes around me, was what helped me get it back together. Or at least till I was out of there.

Or maybe the freaking emotions I was feeling now, were clouding my mind.

I was expecting things to be worse, I knew the moment I switched it off, there would be a time in the future when I would feel again and I knew it would nearly destroy me. Yes, I had few hours in the tomb where I got to be away from the two and manage to fight for control and not loose it by the overwhelming attack of how it felt to be...feeling. But yes, it wasn't as hard as I was anticipating.

The switch got back on against my will, but I already knew that some of the emotions I had locked away had been traveling through me for the past two months. All because of Adelle. All because of Stefan. All because I let them in.

It annoyed me as much as I wanted to thank them.

But that's how I think of it all now. Then? I could barely breath, I could barely think. My mind, my heart and everything was a complete mess and it was too much. I wasn't ready for this, my plans were not like that. This few hours when I was alone in the dark, sitting on the floor, surrounded my dead bodies and the absence of the one I dedicated my life purpose on, were the hours where if someone had come to stake me, I would have let them. I would have even directed the wood towards my heart and opened my arms.

I felt utterly weak.

* * *

Starting anew.

* * *

Before getting rid of Pearl, she had the pleasure of telling me what really happened down there. My suspicions, the one I was most afraid of admitting were proven to be true. Why was I afraid? Because they made me see the reality I had long ago forced to never creep in my mind. That the devotion, the obsession and the need I had for one woman were not worth it, were not something I had to waste on her. That I had lost my purpose of living, not only because I didn't get the girl, but because she came out to never really wanting me.

All my hate, all the things I have done, they were for nothing. It left me with nothing, and with many questions that I did not have the answers to.

She never truly loved me. And even if I knew that now, it still hurt like nothing before.

But this time I had something, I had clarity. My brain was for the first time working in a way that wasn't revolving entirely around her. On Katherine. And that gave me perspective. Watching Adelle sleep on the cold floor, still locked in the tomb even after she could easily get out and leave us die there, I was finding myself believing in things I considered stupid before..

The human girl, showed me braveness, dedication and compassion, she showed me goodness and acceptance. All of it. And she didn't want anything in return. The more I thought about her, the less it hurt, the less it mattered. And ...the more I saw she was right. I never had Katherine, she never wanted me either. But what I did have was Stefan, my brother, the one that was still helping me even after everything I had done to him, after all the times I had tried to destroy him.

He was right next to me, not showing pity, but understanding, willingness to be there. And I was an asshole, I was a lot of awful things and because of it I knew I didn't deserve what he was trying to give me.

But if Damon Salvatore was something, he was damn selfish.

So I accepted the truce. I accepted starting over. Because I fucking needed someone, I fucking needed my brother and even if I would never admit it, Stefan knew it too. Because he needed my deranged broken self just as much. The words of Adelle about family rang in my head as I apologized to him. And I had never been so thoughtful in my existence.

It was surprisingly easy to do it too. It felt like one ton was lifted off my shoulders and at least one thing wasn't shit in my life.

Or two, as I thought about the human girl too.

I blame it on the switch. I blame it on the lack of control that night too, because now I cringe at how sappy Stefan and I had acted then. Ugh. Next thing I know I would be drinking from bambi too.

But then, I no longer felt betrayed by my brother, I couldn't force myself to hate him and truly I never did. The prospect of having him back, just like when we were humans and before Katherine tore us apart appealed to me. And when was I ever to deny myself something?

* * *

The realization.

* * *

After the brief stay in the tomb I did what I knew best, I got myself drunk, I binged and slept around like it was for the last time. The moment we were out of there, the thoughts of betrayal, of hurt and every shit thing I was now inevitably feeling crushed me. So I needed distraction. And I got it.

For two days. Then even the girls, the blood, the alcohol and the music where not enough to push it all away. I still tried though, I did it again and again and stayed clear from Adelle, because I knew, I just fucking knew that before I had my shit together there was this big possibility of telling her everything and like a sad excuse of a man I would have poured my guts out on her, knowing she would be able to make it better.

So I stayed away. I couldn't let this control Katherine had on me to transfer over to Adelle. She deserved better, and till my head we clear, I knew I shouldn't see her, because my emotions, they would transfer to the one girl that was there for me, that accepted me.

The human was already confusing me, I didn't want to add to the mash my deranged and out of control emotions I still had to go through.

Thankfully, even if I die before telling him that, Stefan did not left my side. It would have annoyed me before, but I knew he wasn't doing it as a form of pity, he just was there. There. Not talking, not giving me a lecture. He was a silent company that I remember him being even when we were human. Human Stefan would seat next to my bad and would present the wordless support I needed. Just like now. And the feeling of not being alone was fucking amazing, it made me want it more and cherish it a lot.

It made me realize that I had missed it.

One day after another, Stefan was there, like a true brother and one night I could not hold it back, I could not stop myself, I let my guard down and admitted of trusting him again. I admitted of truly wanting him back.

And this realization, with the promises we made marked the beginning of the new start. The beginning of getting to know my own blood all over again and building the bond that Adelle made me wish of having with him.

It marked the night when I realized what I really felt for Katherine. I didn't know how I came to it, when it happened or why but one moment I was lost, the next time I saw it all clearly.

The spell was gone. I knew that what I had for that woman wasn't love, it wasn't anything but the possibility of being free for once in my life and she represented this desire in my eyes. I craved so much to be out of my fathers claws that I was ready to do anything. And when she showed up, Katherine was viewed by me as the thing that would grant me this possibility. I was never in love with her, I was in love with what I delusion myself in believing she was.

I was obsessed with my freedom and in turn I was obsessed with her. And just now did I saw it all. Because how could one love someone that they did not really know, how could I fall for an illusion? Well, I didn't. And now I knew it.

And this realization was fucking liberating. It was the thing that made me feel truly free.

Stefan. Adelle. They were the ones to show me the true. To present me with the options of real happiness. And I was ready to go and get it.

* * *

Need.

* * *

With a clear head, came and clear thoughts, clear emotions.

The true showed herself as well.

And what was the true? Simple. I felt need. Need. For her. Adelle. I knew that she was extraordinary, she was able to do the one thing I never considered possible, the human girl brought my brother back. And I fucking knew that there was no way out now, because I cared for her. Deeply.

It was different this time, though, I saw her for what she was. Strong willed. Brave. Stupid. But smart at the same time. Fragile. I could have fun with her. She is okay with me being a vampire. A vampire not like Stefan. She didn't compare us, she never made me feel anything but enough. But she was crazy too, with her disturbing reflex of tasering her family members. Adelle didn't cared about anyone but her close ones, she had a deranged moral compass and couldn't care less about something that did not concerned her. But when it came to the people she loved she would do anything.

She was flowed. I saw it very clearly. She was far from perfect. And I was fucking attracted to her like a moth to a flame. I was realizing that Ad was my friend. Even when Elena despised me with everything she had, Addie could not give a fuck, she had her own opinion and wasn't going to let me go. No matter how much I had been an ass to her. But then what did I expect from this silver haired girl? She is strange, quirky, totally random and comes up with such shit that it blows my mind. She is also the girl my brother is in love with and the girl I can't stop thinking about. I find reasons to touch her, to provoke her, to make her smile.

I do anything I can to make her pay attention to me. Me. I was greedy, I wanted her to look at me with the same affection Stefan looked at her with, the same I was certain I had towards her.

The vampire in me, the animal, the monster was so calm around her. When I was around her, I could barely think, while in the same time having the feeling that I could do anything. That everything was possible.

She unknowingly gave me that power.

* * *

Changing but not so much.

* * *

Adelle sometimes had this far away look, lost in her own thoughts, in those moments my theory, that the girl was too good to be true, was confirm as she looked like she didn't belonged here. She would look sad at those moments and I didn't know why, but I wanted, needed to know what was going on, why she looked so lost. It was so I could make it all better. I wanted to make her feel better.

For the first time I was feeling selfless, because I would not gain anything from it, but to see her smile.

* * *

Jealousy.

* * *

I felt jealousy not from my brother and his relationship with Ad, but from her brother and Tyler and how close they were with my human. How free she looked with them even if most of the times she was making fun of the youngest Gilbert and put Ty in some kind of crazy prank.

Strangely I didn't mind sharing her time with Stefan, but with anyone else I was getting this need to snap necks. This need to be the only one she ever looked so happy with.

* * *

The turning point.

* * *

After spending one long day with a hunter slash lousy history teacher and a copy of the woman I now hated, throwing me disapproving and disgusted looks, all I wanted was to see her.

The same night I went to her house, and waited for her, relaxing in her bed loving how it smelled of her. When Adelle showed up, she surprised me again by being worried for me. It felt so satisfying to be the center of her thoughts, to be cared for and to know someone out there was actually giving crap of what could happen to you.

Then we were laying together. She was scratching my scalp, massaging my head in a way that I felt warm, needed. The security and the feeling of being home was fucking addicting. I came to the understanding I would kill for her, I would protect her, I would give myself so this moment could repeat. The pain I associated with love was replaced with such devotion, happiness and content, that in the span of one night I lost and then found myself once again, just because this human girl showed me what it felt to love someone. It was liberating and instead of feeling caged, I was actually free.

I for the first time understood.

My masochistic comprehensions of this same concept were untrue. And now I knew it because Adelle showed me the lightness, the devastatingly consuming real feelings of what it means to love somebody. She presented me with the possibility to see how it should be, how right it is and how I did not had to change to have it all.

Then Stefan walked in and I didn't feel like I was stealing the girl. I now understood completely what my brother has seen and felt for Ad for such a long time.

I understand the need. The feeling of belonging somewhere where you are accepted, where you are cherished and where you can be yourself. I see that just as I need my brother, I need the sleeping girl and I can't give up either this time. I am not willing to loose Stefan for the girl, because he is my brother, he is the only one to know me completely. But I wasn't going to let Addie go either.

Neither is Stef.

So I made my decision.

It marked the turning point.

I beckoned my brother to lay with me on the other side of the human girl.

He did. And for the first time I felt complete.

* * *

Accepting.

* * *

We don't talk about it. There is no time for possibly doing that. With John, Isobel and all the annoying humans we have to deal with, Stefan and I don't confront the realization we have come up the night before. There is the fact that Ad possibly doesn't feel anything for either of us, what about the two at the same time. She could be understanding but to such an extend?

Both of us had lived long on this earth, both had experienced a lot and the concept wasn't new. But between each other? With this exact girl? I had no idea how I could go with it. Not when it was that serious, not when it could be life changing.

Because I was fucking in love with her.

I was fucking ready to do anything for her. Even when she didn't want me to. Even when she would do the same.

So I was afraid. No. I was fucking terrified.

* * *

Wishing.

* * *

Then she barged in looking pale as paper, ready to break down, sick with worry that something had happened to Stefan and I. We had captured Isobel and I was expecting from Adelle to be ecstatic, bouncing with the possibility of tasering someone just for the heck of it.

But no. She never looked more human in my eyes in that moment. Never looked so out of control. Then I see her almost crying in my brother's arms. She shakes as a leaf and the emotions she displays for Stefan proves to me that she cares more then we thought.

And I wish, I fucking wish that it was the same for me, I wish that I could steal her attention from Stef, but I can't do that, because Stefan deserves it. They can be happy together and I am almost ready to accept being in her life just as friend when she turns to me and looks like she could not breath or live if I was hurt.

I was almost brought to my knees. Because the same look I wished for just a moment ago was turned towards me now.

It's for me. And I feel like the most cherished person there is, I feel fucking out of the world by how happy I am that she displays such emotions towards me.

Because fuck, it never happened before, and I didn't have to do anything, I didn't have to change or push myself, I didn't have to prove myself to her, I didn't have to sacrifice myself or be more like Stefan.

I understood it then. Adelle saw me for who I was, what I was and she was fine with it. She accepted it. She cared for me even after seeing the monster inside of me.

Does she even realize that she is falling for both of me and Stefan, though?

* * *

Believing.

* * *

Then I remember the pictures, all the photos that are of me and Stefan, all displaying the things that makes us human even in the form of monsters. That day I was finally able to peek in her mind, how Ad works and it's fascinating. The more I look at the photos the more I know that she sees me as something more..

And I want.

I crave that it will be always like that.

I need.

I almost order her to never photograph another man like she did me ...or Stefan.

And I am starting to believe that it might be possible, possible to have her.

* * *

Dreaming.

* * *

The dreams I am having are of her, of me, of having her, of touching her, of loving her, of consuming her. I dream of bathing in her love, in her affection. I see the chance of having to know Adelle, of having her there, of finally being happy.

All of this while keeping my brother, even in the means of sharing her, because if there is someone I would let that to happen it will be Stefan only.

And I let myself dream, hope.

And for once I am positive that all the pain, all the shit and betrayal, the loneliness are worth it. They are worth it because they brought me to her. They brought me to the person that showed me that life was worth living.

Adelle Gilbert saved my soul, she repaired my heart and brought my brother back.

I was still an asshole, I still couldn't care less about anyone or anything else and I still wanted to find Katherine and kill her, make her pay. But this time I had someone, somewhere to go back to. Someone, actually two of them, who I could trust.

And love, if I had it my way.

* * *

Breaking.

* * *

And of course it all went to hell.

I knew that the moment Stefan called me too early in the morning, never saying anything in return but a ragged, broken breathing, I knew that things were never going to go as I wished for.

Why?

Her heart wasn't beating. She wasn't breathing.

Adelle was dead.

All went crumbling and falling apart. The blood. The lifeless body. The wound on her neck. That's all I could see.

Entering the room of the girl I was in love with, I was met with the only scene that made me break to the core.

Just next to her bed, laid her unmoving body, her skin was devoid of the warm color I was by now so accustom of seeing and admiring. Her eyes were closed, hiding the blue pearls that made me captive every time they locked with mine. Her plum lips, were turning blue, no more moving, ready to fire a comeback that made me speechless. Her neck, her slender neck I have dreamed of leaving my marks on, was now teared apart, blood oozing from it, filling the room with her aroma that normally would made me crave it like a drug but now made me sick.

Her sister was rocking her body in the corner of the room, her eyes had this crazed look in them, her face was broken, she was trembling, Elena looked afraid and completely lost and I could have felt a tinge of pity if it wasn't for the blood that was painted on her mouth. The anger, the hatred, the blinding fury consumed me with such force, that I was in front of her in a second. My hand - around her neck.

My grip tight.

Getting tighter.

The newly turned vampire started to scramble, to scratch my hands in a pathetic attempt to free herself. But all I saw was the one that have killed Adelle. She was not longer her sister. She wasn't the copy of the woman I hated with vengeance, she was the murderer of the only good thing in my life. The only thing that made me feel like human. Like all of this shit was worth it.

I was going to fucking kill her.

"What did you do?" I gritted through me teeth, barely holding myself from ending her right now. But I had to know the true, I had to now what happened.

"I...I-I-I don't know..." Elena whimpered brokenly while sobbing. Each passing moment her cries were getting stronger, louder and my anger was just multiplying.

Why was she crying? She wasn't the one laying there dead! But she will be, very soon.

And then the whole town, the whole world would pay for what had happened to Adelle.

"Damon..." a whisper behind me brought me out of my plans to make everyone suffer, for everyone to feel the loss of the only good this sick world had to give me.

Throwing the sobbing, barely breathing vampire aside, deciding I will deal with her in a moment, I turned towards my brother.

Stefan. He was a statue, holding the girl he loved, the girl I loved, the one that lifted us up. He was gripping her body like it was his life line, his hands staining with her blood, tears streaming down his face, looking like he was a step away from switching it all off.

I knew why. I understood him very well, because just like him, I felt this emptiness, I felt the void, the meaningless to keep on existing. There was no longer anyone that made all of the shit worth it.

Our sanity.

Our hope.

Our humanity.

Dead.

And just like that Adelle Gilbert broke us. She broke us completely.

* * *

 **Author's note:**

 **Because I am an awful and despicable person. But it was due time to have a peek in Damon's mind and to see his perspective. No? I know I left you hanging once again, but the anticipation would be worth it as you will find out what really happened in the next chapter.**

 **Not everything can go according to Addie's plan...or can it? ;) Muahah 'evil laugh' ! xd**

 **Love,**

 **Felly ^^**


	12. Chapter 12

Disclaimer

I do not own Vampire Diaries. The O.C. is my only original character.

This story will follow the series to some extend, there will be a lot of changes and you will find a partial O.O.C. here.

It will be rated **[M]** for future chapters and yes it will be a **Menage love story/P** **olygamous relationship** , if you don't like please don't read.

I welcome constructive criticism and if you would like to help me with that, please write me a P.M.

Big thanks to my Beta - Cici ( _DontMessWithUndertaker)_ for correcting this chapter! ^w^

 **[!]** Comments. Follows. Any kind of support is highly appreciated. No kidding, it does give the motivation to update faster!

* * *

Chapter 12

So let's get some things straight before even going wherever I was about to … go. Duh.

I love, and I mean I freaking fangirl, love the originals. Maybe I never said it before but let's be real, in Mystic Falls there are a lot of things that tend to distract someone like me who gets in over their head when something happens. None the less, as I said, I adore the Origional vampires and their story, I like the dynamics between the siblings even if it is deranged and damaged to the extent that even I would not try to fix it.

I like how strong and opinionated they are. I like how each and everyone of them are their own person and are such bad-asses that even if you hate them, you still love them. You know what I mean?

For example, I see a little of myself in every Mikaelson. The bitchiness that Rebekah possesses? Have it in abundance. The evil calculations of Elijah? Check. Tendencies to control like Klaus – have that too. The sarcasm that Kol has in such abundance that you wish to kiss him and then bash his head in? I think of myself the same way. So that's why I would never do anything but try and be friends with those suckers. That is, if they don't snap my neck before that.

I just can imagine your next question, though. If I love the Originals so much , why did I turn Elena? Like this, Klaus will never be able to break the curse.

Ding Diiiing! You are totally, completely and irrevocably...wrong.

There is another way to get rid of the curse and I might be the only one that to ever think of this idea. If the characters saw what I have seen; that is, all the seasons till now, they would know what my plan consists of. But because I was the only one who has the chance to do it, I would keep my mouth shut and try to stay alive till I could do what I want.

No matter how much of a bastard Niklaus is, he is hot as hell and even better when he becomes a hybrid.

And let's be real. If I had turned Elena with no back up plan, I would have signed the death certificate of the entire town. Just imagine how the half breed will react when he comes here and sees that the last doppelganger is a bloodsucker and has no children at all.

That would be one pissy puppy, right there. I'm telling you.

But there is a lot of time till that happens, and before that I need to tie of a few loose ends. Like Katherine.

Ah. The stupid Petrova. The things I have in mind for her. She will never know hit her. I will leave her to think that she has all the cards and when the time comes, I will dance around her and take millions of pictures of her face as she realizes that she was played by a mere human girl.

Hah.

But first, I have to deal with the most recent doppelganger. Elena.

I had finally calmed down and come to my senses after sitting for half an hour just staring at the dead body of my presumed sister. It was the first time I had killed anyone, even if she was coming back soon. And I really had not done anything but inject her with poison. Shockingly, it was a lot harder than what I had imagined in my mind, and no matter how much I had prepared myself for it, I still needed quite some time until I could reign in the shaking of my hands and calm my breathing.

I wasn't sure how much time it would take till Elena woke up in transition, but until then I had to get rid of the evidence and make sure no one would suspect that I was the culprit of the worst thing a human could do.

Throwing away the syringes, I went downstairs and opened the front door. I hit it a few times to make it seem like someone had barged in with force. Then I stepped into my bedroom and took out John's ring from my jewelry box. I could not control everything, so I had to make sure that if something went wrong, I would come back.

My plan was simple really. When Elena woke up, I would have a cut on my hand. Bleeding, I would tell her that someone had come in and attacked us. For further explanation, I would tell the story in such a way that Isobel's escaped subordinate would be framed. From what Damon and Stefan told me, this vampire was not coming back so he was perfect for this position. When they ask me how he had come in, I will tell that he was the guy who brought us the pizza and I had unknowingly let him in. Later, he would have come back and for some reason, that he did not share with us, (duh) ...attacked Elena and I. We had been asleep so Elena wasn't able to realize that someone had fed her blood and snapped her neck. I had tried to stop him, but he was gone and thankfully did not do anything to me.

I hoped everyone would believe it, and why would they not?

Isobel's minions were not her friends. I was almost certain that they would want revenge over her one way or the other and when this last vampire could not get to her, the next best thing would be the daughter that she had ordered to be left unharmed.

Everyone would buy it, even Elena's mother.

This was the only way I could think of turning the doppelganger into a vampire without being suspected and questioned. And trust me when I say that I have considered a lot of other options, but I am a human with no access to anything remotely dangerous enough to kill somebody. When I started thinking of ways to kill my-not-so-much-sister-but-sister I realized that it was harder than what they made it seem in the movies.

And let's not overlook two things. Very important things. I could never be suspected. I was me, so anything close to violence was out of question. It was not my style. Or simply said, I did not have the guts to do it.

So poison it was.

My next step was to injure myself. This was going to be difficult, because I am one of the people who curse the universe and cry like a baby from a paper cut. You would not want to see me when I have to cut myself with a knife. And that is where I found myself, an hour after killing Elena. I was in the kitchen, holding the drawer with all the cutlery, debating which one was the best to stab myself with.

One more thing that was hard to do.

The bread knife was out of the question...the one for fish? Ugh...like seriously, no one ever said which was the best. And really I did not want to do it. At all.

Sighing for the hundred time I chickened out and changed my mind.

Nope. No stabbing. Thank you.

So what other way should I make myself bleed? I had to have an injury. Every possible answer made me shudder. So I decided that cutting myself would be easier than bashing my head off something. I took the first thing that my fingers could reach. It was a standard knife. I checked if it was sharp enough, slicing a tomato.

I so did not wish to repeat the act. No. Thank you.

And when I was sure that it was sharp enough, I stood in front of the mirror in the hallway. Taking deep breaths I whined for a minute or two and finally I lifted the said weapon, closed my eyes and pressed it towards my forehead. Hard.

Mather fucking…!

GOD!

I screamed. Fuck! Fuck! What the hell? It hurt like a bitch! Freaking shitty...aaagh!

Willing myself to stop cursing, I looked up and saw the blood pouring out of the wound I made. My eyes were red from the tears I was shedding and I was damning every show that made it look like it did not hurt so much.

Like seriously, every time when someone sliced their hand or something on the Vampire diaries, like Bonnie or Elena, they would just wince a bit...and that's it.

SUCH freaking liars!

There is no way that this throbbing pain I was feeling from a wound, that was a lot smaller then the ones they did on themselves, could hurt so much! God damn it! It stinks like nothing before!

Liars! Liars! They were all such actors!

Ugh, whatever.

Stopping myself from touching it, I went back in the kitchen and rinsed the knife. The throbbing was getting more and more prominent, making my head hurt. I was sure it would leave a scar. Taking a few pills for the pain, because I was too big of a pussy, I felt the blood slowly descending down my left cheek. Ignoring it the best I could, I went upstairs and laid next to the still dead Elena Gilbert.

Her body was warm and I once again shuddered as the picture before me represented more of a sleeping girl, than a future vampire in transition. And that was just too damn creepy.

Playing with the resurrecting ring on my thumb, I twisted it left and right, nervousness and doubt getting under my skin. What if she drank me dry when she woke up and because Elena was still not full supernatural, the jewelry would be useless? Ugh, it was risky, but then again my other option was to inject myself with vampire blood like I did with the doppelganger, but I could not do that. Even if I would come back, becoming immortal was definitely not in my to do list.

Why?

Simple. One, I would waste too much time on trying to learn control and with my tendencies to obsess over things, I could be the next ripper that would hit this small stupid town. Two, I just had the feeling that if I became a vampire...me going back to my world would be impossible. There was something too final about it, and I did not like it.

So it was a big no no, in my books.

But then again, as I would be an awful vampire, Elena would be as well. Pshh….just remembering her adventures when she finally turned makes me cringe, but then she was under the influence of Damon and both Salvatore's were throwing her around like a ball. Anyone in her place would go insane. This time though, what I had in mind would make her a lot more stable and at the end of the day, if Elena still sucked majorly at the immortal stuff, there was the cure. Hah.

I was getting way too ahead of myself. I still had to deal with Isobel here. Tch.

I was rambling. I knew that. But my head hurt like a bitch and it was the only thing that pushed me to ignore it as I was always happy to make plans or scheme something evil. And to be honest, the smell of the blood sliding down my neck was making me too woozy and my stomach was turning over.

Ugh. Ignore it, Ad, just ignore it.

Elena moved. Her fingers twitched and I felt my breath hitch. Shit, I really did it, I really turned Elena Gilbert. Fuck!

Her brown doe eyes snapped open and the panic in them was something I had been expecting. Suddenly, she was up in a sitting position and I forced myself to get into character. Seriously, I was faking so many things as of late, I should be the next Meryl Streep!

"What...what is going on?" The doppelganger whispered, looking very lost and her eyes screamed fear. She stared down at me, orbs getting bigger when she noticed the gushing wound on my forehead. She was definitely smelling my blood. "A-Addie? W-wha..."

Taking a deep breath, I pushed myself in a sitting position just like her. We were facing each other and I let the tears I was holding because of the throbbing pain take over my eyes.

"Elena, I...you..." okay, so how exactly should I serve the news to her that she was in transition? Mmmm…

"Why can I smell your...your blood Ad? What happened?" her voice was rising, her feelings were getting more and more frantic. The girl was panicking and her control was slipping. I gripped the ring harder, praying that … fuck, maybe I did not think it well enough.

"The guy who brought us the pizza, he was a vampire, Lena. I … I invited him in without knowing and when... when we fell asleep he came back." She sucked in a breath through her teeth, seeing where things where going. "When I woke up, he was just feeding you his blood….and before I could even say anything...he...he snapped your neck." The whimper that escaped her lips shook me. Fuck, Elena looked so terrified.

"What...why would…?" Tears were now streaming from her own eyes. We were both crying.

"I don't know, he ...he attacked me and I thought he was going to kill me or ...or turn me as well, but then he just stopped and ran out. Elena, he said something about pay back and...and Isobel." I grabbed her shaking hand. "I think he was working for her and...and...I can't be sure..."

"What...what does that mean? I ..can't be...I.." before I could even say anything, Elena tugged me towards her and hugged me with all she had. I engulfed her in my arms as well, feeling miserable for forcing something like this on her. She didn't deserve it, she didn't have to go through this. But being a vampire was the only way to make sure that she and the rest of the people here had the chance to survive what was about to come.

The guilt I felt, the pain I shared with her, the anguish, I would endure it all, I will live with it. That was the price I had to pay for my actions, that was the thing I had to sacrifice in order to protect the people I came to care about.

"You...you are in transition Elena, that means either you drink blood in the next few hours and become a vampire, or you will...or you will die." I pushed the words out of my mouth. The brown haired girl trembled and I shut my eyes trying to fight the guilt that was washing over me with each passing moment.

"But….I-I can't...I don't want to be a v-vampire, Addie!" She whispered brokenly in the crook of my neck as her hands held me tighter. "I don't want to hurt anybody...I can't...I..."

"I know, Elena, trust me, I know, but you don't have any other choice. You...you can't leave Jenna, Jeremy...or me. You can't die, Elena. Not after our parents." She was now sobbing. And I know, I freaking know that it was a hit below the belt, but I could not leave her with another choice but for her to turn. There was no way I could let that happen.

"Oh God! What will Jeremy and aunt Jenna think of me? I will be a...a monster! They will hate me, Addie, they will be afraid of me!" My other dimensional sister was getting hysterical and I wasn't the best person to give advice. Normally I was too blunt, and the truth I spouted left and right usually hurt people.

So calming down a vampire in transition was the worst thing I could have found myself doing.

"They love you, Elena, they could never hate you. You are part of the family, you always will be and nothing can change that. Jenna and Jer will understand, this was not your choice, you were forced into it." By me… "But it is your decision if you will leave us, or if you will stay."

I did not get a response. I just felt her tears dampen my shirt, and for a moment I thought that my words had calmed her down.

Well.

I was wrong.

Elena had stopped her hysterical sobbing and body shaking, because she was concentrating on the blood painting my face and neck.

The moment I realized that, was the moment when the most unbearable pain I had ever felt hit me with unexpected force.

Shit shit shit shit!

Fuck, it hurt so much, that I screamed. Without knowing, Elena had her fangs tearing my neck in half, sucking my life force within seconds. Like a starving animal that had not tasted any food for months. She was ripping my flesh and I had never imagined the insufferable pain that I would go through. After my scream, I had no voice to even attempt to stop her. The tears where pouring down my face and I felt my hands and legs becoming cold.

Soon the pain was in the back of my head as numbness took over, and this echo filled my ears. The sounds around me got distant, I could not move, I could not do anything but let my sister suck the life right out of me.

I have thought over how it would feel to die. And as I was gripping my ring, fear consuming me, the thought of not coming back almost made me … What if I was wrong? What if my plan was completely ruined?

Fuck.

I never imagined how tired I would feel. It was like I had been up for days and sleepiness was overtaking my body and mind. It was getting harder to keep my eyes open, and why would I even want that? All I could see was Elena slowly killing me and with this realization, I let myself close my lids and just relax.

Then...then there was nothing.

* * *

 _"What are you waiting for?"_

 _"Adelina! Are you listening? Let's go!"_

 _"Sis, if you don't move your ass we will waste time."_

 _Blinking. Once. Twice. Where….where am I? People were walking around me, there were tall buildings left and right, shoppers, cafes._

 _Then a woman, looking at me, brown eyes full of emotions, mischievous, grin bright and amused. She was taller than me by a few inches, hair short but curly, nose straight and lips thin but still beautiful. Her skin was more fair then mine, and her nails were painted with neon purple, hands holding on few bags._

 _My sister._

 _"Milla? What...what is going on?" I was so confused, why was this so familiar? My sibling scoffed at me, rolling her big eyes, then grabbed my hand with her free one and started to pull me towards a building with a lot of windows._

 _"Ad, don't loose your mind now! The show hasn't started yet and you are completely shutting down! Get a grip."_

 _It felt so real, her touch, so secure. I was staring at her, not able to say a word. It felt like a lifetime had passed from the last time I had seen her, had heard her voice or been chastised for something. Tears were threatening to fall down._

 _"Shit! No. No crying!" She exclaimed, pushing me towards the entrance of the gray, glass building. People were running around, some panicking, others shouting, a few holding things, moving. It was chaos. "See, this? Look carefully, all of those idiots, walking around like chickens without heads are doing this for you!" There was a pause, she scratched her neck and scrunched her face for a second, before she continued. "Well, not only for you per say, but you are one of the reasons! So get yourself together, we have lot's of work to do!"_

 _That's when I saw it, on the walls there were paintings, photographs…_

 _Oh my God._

 _Was this happening?_

 _"Hey dumb ass! Watch how you handle Adelina's pictures! We don't have copies! Can you imagine his nerve! I knew we had to come earlier to do it ourselves, those idiots will destroy my sister's art before it is even displayed!" Milla blabber on and on as she glared at everyone around us. "And you! Why are you so quiet? Help me for God sake! The exhibition is in few hours!"_

 _I gripped her hand more firmly, stopping her in her tracks. That grabbed my sister's attention as she dropped the bags she was carrying- filled with clothes that I had to try and decide what I would wear for tonight's gallery opening._

 _"Oh...Ad..." She stepped closer, probably seeing how pale I was and thought it was because of stress and worry. But the real reason was because I was finding myself reliving the last moments of the last day in my own world before I was dropped in the Vampire Diaries._

 _It was the night when some of my photos were going to be displayed in a gallery, putting my name out there for the first time. One artist had found me and had proposed to showcase some of my work here a few months back, and I had agreed wholeheartedly, not believing that something like this was actually happening. Milla had been there every step on the way that led to this moment. In few hours I was going to be presented with some other new artists in the opening for this season. It was such an honor, and my entire family was going to be here._

 _My nerves had been suffocating me the entire week and if it wasn't for my sister I would have chickened out and hid myself under some rock till it was over. I did not want to watch as people judged my photographs the entire night and the next few months as well._

 _When the event was over I remember celebrating with my mom, dad and Milla, we had gone to our favorite Italian restaurant and had a great night. The same night, I had stayed up late with my big sister; just talking, about life, goals, dreams. We joked and laughed and ate some of the secret stash of sweets my mum hid for guests only. It had been a while since we had that opportunity as sis was always busy with my niece or work and I was always studying. That's why I cherished those few hours so much, so deeply, that I fought the sleep and the exhaustion with all I had, just so I could spend a little more time with her._

 _If only I had known that was going to be the last time I would see her..._

 _If I only knew that the next time I woke up, my life would be turned upside down…_

 _"Oh, Ad, don't cry, it will be great! Everyone will love your photos! They are amazing! You are freaking amazing! And if some idiot says otherwise, I will knock him unconscious!" That made me choke on a strangled laugh. God I missed her so much._

 _I missed how overprotective she was. How she tormented me, how she made me scream and pull my hair sometimes from frustration. I missed our fights, the shouting, but the moments we would be there for each other as well. I missed her comfort, her support and sarcastic comments. I missed the times we would spend just sharing, laughing, crying._

 _I missed my sister._

 _So much._

 _And when she hugged me, I clutched at her with all I had. I held her tightly, clinging, not willing to let go of how much at home I felt with her; how I didn't have to always be strong, how while she held me soothingly, trying to calm me down. I didn't have to scheme, lie or plan. I could be the little sister who needed her sibling. I could be Adelina again._

 _When Milla pulled back, I held in a whimper, not wanting this embrace to end. I was not ready, nowhere near ready. But I had no other choice, so I forced myself to keep it together._

 _"You good?" She asked, concern evident in her eyes, even if she hid it behind slight annoyance. That was my sister for you, she would never admit to being a sap and always refused to deal with crying people. It just showed how much she cared for me, because if it was anyone else with snot and tears rolling down their face, she would be running in the opposite direction without a second thought._

 _We the Ivanov family did not deal well with crying people._

 _"Yeah, yeah, thank you." I answered and she just waved me off. I did not miss how her shoulders relaxed a bit after my words._

 _"Whatever, let's get going. We have much to do and I have people to shout at. No way they are putting your photos in the back of the gallery. And I just know that one of the planners is thinking of secretly changing places. Not on my watch!" She then started to walk again, waving her hands around her, grabbing attention and scared looks._

 _Milla might not understand art in general, or how events like this work really, but she was damn good at ordering people around. Something she got from our mum._

 _My mother!_

 _Is …is she here already? What about my dad?_

 _Excitement took over as I looked around and searched for their familiar faces. And there they were, talking with somebody. More likely my mother was speaking, while my father was rolling his eyes amused and quipping sarcastic comments left and right. I jumped as my heart started to beat fast. I was just about to go to them, to talk, to hug, to just smell…_

 _Then all of a sudden, everything went black again._

* * *

Wet, something wet was falling down my face.

It was hard to breath.

My body was laying ...was that the floor?

Hands were clutching mine, but they were not as soft as my sister's. They were bigger and they were trembling. They were so warm. Or…was I just too cold?

There was this sound in my ears. A ringing, like I was under water and someone was talking to me, but I could not hear it well.

Another set of hands, fingers threading through my hair, lips kissing my forehead.

Then I smell copper, my lips parting without my permission. Why can't I open my eyes...and why am I tasting iron...metallic…is that blood?

My stomach turned over, I felt awful. Fuck.

And then I choked. I didn't want to drink that, but someone was forcing it down my throat.

I was going to throw up.

My eyes snapped open. For a second it was too bright to see anything, it hurt and I winced but then it all got clear. The sounds around me were getting closer and closer, till I could hear again.

"Adelle...Addie, can you...can you hear me?"

"Sweetheart. Hey, sweetheart."

There above me I saw Stefan and Damon. But they were not what I remembered them being. My head was throbbing and I was now realizing that we were in my bedroom, just next to my bed. It was bright outside and Stefan was holding me, cradling me, his whole body was shaking and I was left completely paralyzed by the way he looked at me. His green eyes were filled with tears, wetting his face, and falling on my own too. His breathing was ragged, like it pained him. The pain that painted his features, the devastation written all over him, it was too much. Stefan looked like he was a step away from breaking, from completely loosing it.

Damon...Damon Salvatore looked even worse. His hair was all over the place, like he had been pulling at it in a state of complete loss. The vampire was pale, his eyes were big and filled with fear, with heartbreak, with disbelieve. His hands were gripping my face, touching, moving, like he could not comprehend that I was there. He looked like a mad man, like someone who had been through hell and back. Over and over again.

Both of the brothers had blood on them, both were standing over me, caging me from seeing anything else but them and how shaken, how fucking broken they were. And my heart hurt, it hurt so much, because I understood. I understood it was because of me. They had found me on the floor, not breathing, my heart not beating, dead.

God, they had seen, they had thought that I … I was dead.

My eyes darted towards my hand, the one that Stefan was gripping and the ring was still there, proving to me that I had been killed and that I have come back to the living. That the blood I had tasted, was forced on me to heal the now missing wound on my neck. I knew that this was the case because I did not feel any pain, the throbbing had stopped and any fog of confusion was cleared completely out of my head.

The bad part was that I had made two vampires loose their shit.

Fuck. Elena!

Standing upright too suddenly caused me to feel a bit unsteady. Before I could react, two sets of arms were holding me still, supporting my weight as I looked around, searching for the newly turned vampire. And there she was, in the corner, eyes round and rimmed with tears, sobbing hysterically and looking so scared and lost that I could not feel any anger at her for tearing my throat out.

I had been expecting it.

She had blood on her lips, down her neck, painting her pajama top as well. The strong girl was the picture of pity now. And the image of Caroline; newly turned, frantic, sitting and crying in the restroom came to my mind. They looked identical at this moment.

"Lena…" I tried to get near her, but a strong hold on both my sides rendered me unable.

"Are you fucking out of your mind?" The deadly tone of the raven haired man on my right made me look at him. Damon's blue orbs were dark now, full of fury. He was shaking, no doubt resisting the urge to lash out.

"Damon..." Stefan tried to interfere, but when both brothers stared at one other neither came to agreement. The green eyed Salvatore then looked at me. He had reigned in the panic and all the other emotions I first saw in him, and now the vampire was fighting with himself. "What happened, Addie?"

I looked at them, taking a deep breath, knowing that I had to be cautious here, or they might snap.

"The last vampire that worked for Isobel, he turned Elena..."

Then I retold them the entire story I had forged, word by word. The feeling in my gut, the disgust that I had to lie to them, made the guilt in me so much stronger. For the moment I had to stay away from the doppelganger, at least till I had calmed the other two vampires down, or there was the chance that they would kill her. I had moved closer to them, ignoring how my heart skipped each time their eyes would penetrate mine with this insane intensity.

Before I knew it, Stefan had pulled me to his chest, my head nestled in the crook of his neck, while he stroked my hair, mostly to calm me as well as himself down. It did not feel good to relive what happened, how painful it was and how I was holding so much back and it killed me to do it, but I had to. Sitting on the floor between his legs, Damon sat next to us. I was gripping his hand, fingers threaded together, while he held my other one on his face. His butterfly kisses were raining all over it, his voice a low mummer, taking deep breaths like this whole action was a reassurance he needed in order to not go insane. The moment I pulled my head back, he had me in his arms, bringing me closer to him, my back against his chest. But still not stealing me from his brother's grip. His face hid itself just below my ear, where his started to kiss me once again, and even if I felt incredibly embarrassed to be touched like that by both of them, I let them do it.

It was almost primal, how the brothers roved their hands all over my body, how they touched me, how they kissed my neck, cheeks, forehead, fingers and especially where my wound used to be.

It took a lot of time in order for Stefan's shudders and ragged breathing to calm down, till Damon wasn't looking so fucking lost and broken. So I let them pull me from one set of hands to another, I let them take their time. I let them hold me, hug me, kiss me as I retold over and over what happened, how the ring came out to save my life, how it wasn't Elena's fault, how we should help her too.

For a while neither agreed to pull away, it was almost like they had completely lost it and did not care about anything else but me, like there wasn't a forth person in the room that needed their concern more than I did.

Every time I even mentioned the name of the trembling girl, that was staring at the three of us in shock, Damon would...bite my ear and tell me to shut up, while Stefan would just hold me tighter.

What the hell was happening? They have never reacted like this in the show.

The Salvatore's looked so much more composed in the series, they had never presented such a side to the viewers.

"Please..." I said once again, standing still, knowing it was better to not try and push them away.

A sigh. A glare. A nod.

Stefan finally looked at my other dimensional sister and forced a smile, even if small, to grace his lips. He was calm once more.

"Elena, I know what you are going through, if….if you let me, I will explain everything to you. I can help you control it. I know it looks scary...and..." She stopped him, shaking her head frantically, eyes never leaving mine.

"I...I killed you, Addie...I-I Oh my God, I killed my own sister!" She sobbed and my heart cracked at how devastated she looked in that moment. And here I was wasting my time in the hands of two men, while she needed me.

Fuck. How could I let that happen?

"No! Elena, you couldn't stop, I … I don't blame you. Look, I am here now. I am okay, please don't cry." I whispered, my own eyes getting glassy as I tried to get closer to her, but was held back by Damon, who glared heatedly at me and I knew he would not let me go to her, no matter what I told him.

I stared at Stefan, lost and silently begging him to go over, to tell her that everything was going to be okay, I wanted him to help her the same way he did with Caroline. And he did. The vampire went to her and forced her to listen to him. Stefan made her calm down, he promised her that he would not let her hurt anyone else.

It was working.

Then he snapped her neck.

My eyes bulged out.

"What!? Why did you do that?" I exclaimed, getting to my feet, pushing Damon away as I ran towards my unmoving sister. The blond brother then picked up her body carefully as he turned towards me.

"She was loosing control again, Adelle. When she wakes up, I promise to do whatever it takes to help her, but Elena was in shock and steps away from attacking you again." He stated, eyes hard, determined. Like he was challenging me to oppose his decision.

This Stefan Salvatore was different then the one on TV. Here he wasn't so soft, he did what he had to do. Maybe it was the human blood he was drinking that added the needed edge he lacked in the show. This Stefan was stronger, clearheaded, ready to do whatever it took. Just like Damon, but less reckless.

And I respected that, because even if he didn't get the need to go on killing sprees like the Ripper, he took every other aspect from his alter ego.

It made him a real, powerful vampire.

And he accepted it.

Fuck. That glint in his green eyes, the same one Damon possessed, the note of danger and wildness there made my skin hot.

"Okay." I nodded. "I am coming." I stated.

"No way in hell. You are staying away from her till Elena learns control, Adelle." Stepped in the raven haired brother, His posture oozing anger.

"She is my sister, I am not abandoning her when she needs me the most, Damon." I glared at him. The vampire was not one bit pleased.

But in the end they both agreed to it.

We had to cover Elena's body because she would burn in the sun while we transferred her to the boarding house. On our way there, and while they put her away in one of the bedrooms I called Jenna, Jeremy and Bonnie.

When the three arrived, Stefan was down in the basement giving Isobel another dose of vervain till we had the time to talk with her, and Damon was drinking his third glass of bourbon. Sitting all of them in the parlor, and ignoring the way the older Salvatore's eyes did not stray from me, I explained what happened.

And fuck, it did not go well.

It took me hours….hours to calm them down, for Jenna to stop crying, for Bonnie to stop saying it was her fault for not being there and for Jeremy to stop feeling guilty that he went to the party that night.

Thankfully, Elena had woken up by then and had come down so she could take over.

It was too damn emotional and I was reaching my limit for the day.

The drama.

The crying.

The blame.

The guilt.

The support.

The numerous reassurances.

The promises that it will get better.

That things will look up.

That Elena's life was not over.

…

Too fucking much.

Not only did I have to be present, not only did I have to stand next to Stefan and calm everyone down but I had to repeat that she would get over it, that Elena would learn control, that she could have a normal existence and that I would be there every step on the way. I had to reign in the devastation I felt after the … dream like meeting with my real sister. I had to say over and over again to my little brother that he had not lost his sister, that she hadn't really killed me, that we were all going to be okay. Thankfully Bonnie did not loose it completely, she did not let Elena down the same way she first did when the witch found out Caroline had become a vampire. She was supportive, she promised to help.

Damon, thank God, was quiet the whole time and did not make things worse.

But it was taking my energy, all those emotions, all the exhaustion, all of it.

* * *

Hours later.

The chaos was under control.

There was no more crying, no more hysterics. There was just...acceptance.

I was able to breath again.

While Jenna was out informing Alaric of what had happened, Jeremy and I stayed in one of the corners of the parlor, watching as Stefan explained everything Elena needed to know as a newly turned vampire. Bonnie was there too, spelling her a day light ring, and Damon had disappeared somewhere.

My bigger sister didn't look lost anymore. She was holding strong for everyone, believing that she could do it. That with the support everyone showed her and the guidance from Stefan, she would not kill anyone...else.

So things were looking up, the sun was already setting, the Gilbert's aunt had brought some clothes and things Elena would need while she stayed here. We the humans were watching as the older vampire was teaching the doppelganger how to drink human blood from a blood bag. It was going hundred times easier then with Vicki, as Elena was emotionally stable, and not on drugs.

Bonnie left when it was getting late. She had her father at home, but promised to come back tomorrow with the school work Elena would be missing.

Jenna and Jeremy went home too, after I reassured them that I would be safe here and that it was better for Lena to have someone.

The truth was, that I didn't want to go back there. I knew that the two humans needed time alone and away from this madness so they could comprehend what happened. And seeing me there, as the one that was killed and then came back to life thanks to a magical ring, was far from the normal they needed.

Thankfully neither Salvatore minded.

We did not speak about what went down in my bedroom. I had no desire to question their reaction, the way they acted, the way I acted. And from the looks of it, the brothers were on the same page as I was, as Stefan was occupying his entire time with Elena and teaching her control while Damon roamed the boarding house silently, like a ghost with a glass of scotch or bourbon in hand.

That same night, after the whole fiasco was over and Elena finally saw that she could make it through, I stayed with her for a moment. Her bedroom was the farthest one in the house, it was old and unused but still very beautiful, even if neither of us gave it much attention. We were sitting on the bed, silent for some time, one looking at her hands, while the other stared at her vampire sister.

What could I say to her, to make it all better?

Her life was over. Everything she new till now, everything that she thought her future would be, was no longer a possibility. I had succeeded in calming her down, when the shock and fear was still so fresh. Elena never wanted to be a vampire in the show, she wasn't a good one either. But I did believe she would make it this time. She would prevail and work it out. Her whole family would be there for her this time, I was making sure of it.

But now, at this moment, what could I tell her? How could I explain to her that I didn't hate her because she…she killed me. I saw her guilt, I could almost taste it as the doppelganger didn't even have the courage to look me in the eyes. For all I knew she was steps away from switching her emotions off if I hadn't been there.

Shit.

I wasn't good at this stuff, especially when I couldn't relate to her problem. Yes I can imagine how hard it is, how devastated she is by what she had done, even if she had no control over it. But if I was in her place, if I was the one to kill my own sister...God knows I would be even more miserable then Elena. I would most probably … I would have followed her. There was no doubt in my heart that I would have not been able to live with it. But here is the difference- I was okay, I was breathing.

"Elena." Her body stiffened as I decided it was time to speak. "I know that no matter what I tell you, the guilt you are feeling will not go away. Saying this, I need you to know that I don't blame you, I don't hate you, you are still my sister, Elena, and nothing could ever change that." I put my hand over her own resting in her lap. For a second I was sure that she would pull away, but then she just let me hold her. "You had no say in the matter, this life was forced on you and I know that it shattered some of your dreams, your goals, but you are not alone. We are here for you, you will get through this and I know that right now you don't see it, but in the future, one day you will realize that you can do everything you ever wished for, even in this form."

She sucked in a breath. Her brown doe eyes snapped to me, filled with tears, looking lost and soaking in sadness.

She wanted to believe me. I saw it. She was hearing my words and maybe she did believe me. But Elena needed time.

And I will give her that.

"All I ask from you is to give it a chance, to accept that no one sees you differently. That we … that we love you."

"Addie.." She choked out a strangled whimper and flung herself at me. Elena was shaking, she was repeating over and over again how sorry she was, how afraid she felt, and I held her. It was the only thing I could give her now. The whole situation was so familiar, as I had been in the same exact one with the same girl, hours ago. This time though, I did not fear that she would hurt me.

In fact I was certain that after today, Elena Gilbert would do whatever she could to gain control over her own new side and she will make sure to never attack anyone ever again.

And that's when I knew that the difference from this dimension and the way the series was on TV. The Elena here was grasping the truth of what it took to be a vampire, to be able to control the urges.

The girl would find the strength she needed and use it as her weapon. She would became a real bad ass as she protected her loved ones, even from herself. And let's be real, now that she wasn't being pulled in two different directions by the Salvatore's, she wasn't conflicted about her emotions.

I was sure that this time, Elena Gilbert will rock being a blood sucker.

I felt it in my gut.

Just like I knew that I had made the right decision to force this upon her. Even if the guilt was going to slowly kill me.

It was never easy to keep secrets.

"Thank you." Elena pulled away, shyly looking at me, smiling a little for the first time today. "I don't know what I would have done without you, Adelle."

She would still be human for one.

But I did not tell her that, I just shrugged, never one to be able to accept any gratitude or praises. It felt awkward for some reason. So I changed the topic quickly and an hour later, I had my other dimensional sister sleeping soundly in the bed.

As I exited the room, I was met with Damon leaning on the railing, opposite of the door. Arms folded in front of him, eyes staring at me, penetrating, searching for something I couldn't tell. His posture wasn't relaxed. On the contrary, the vampire was tense and his jaw was set, lips forming a grimace.

The raven haired man standing there wasn't pleased at all.

I realized why.

He didn't like me being alone with the newly turned vampire behind me. I was going to protest and tell him that he was exaggerating a bit, but then I remembered the look on his face when I saw him the first time as I came back to life this morning.

The devastation, the loss that stared at me then, made my heart hurt. I could not bare to be the one to cause him these kind of emotions. I didn't want him to feel anything but happiness. So I understood why he was so tense at the prospect of me being alone with the girl that had sucked me dry. And it was surprising to me that he had controlled himself and had not pulled me kicking and screaming away from the doppelganger.

He respected my choice, even if he wasn't okay with it.

This knowledge made me blush a little. Damon Salvatore respected me. Me. That was something I had wished for from the moment I realized I was staying in this world for God knows how long.

So I smiled at him. Tentatively. Shyly. Playing with my hands.

He rolled his blue eyes in annoyance, but then let out a small huff with which I knew he was letting it go. Barely, but letting it go. Before I could say anything, his right hand sprang out, grabbing my left one in a gentle grip. He started to pull me down the corridor.

We entered a very familiar bedroom.

Stefan was sitting in the chair next to the old desk, I saw the diary opened before him, like he was reading from it. We were in his room and I had no idea what the shared looks between the brothers was all about. The younger vampire stood up, looking at me uncertainly while Damon was still holding my hand like he was expecting me to flee.

"I can give you some clothes that you can sleep in." Stefan said slowly, gazing at me. Waiting for some kind of reaction. I only was able to nod silently, as I had no idea where this tension was coming from. Why were the Salvatore's so … so cautious.

They could not be hiding anything that dangerous from me. I knew a lot about them, without them realizing it. So they could not surprise me in ...any kind of way. Really.

Stefan disappeared, probably going to get the said items, as I was now staring at the pale fingers encased around my wrist. Looking up, Damon was already gazing at me, blue eyes roving all over my face and I had the decency to tuck a stray hair behind my ear. I had no idea what I looked like right at this moment, my clothes still stained with my own blood. But can you blame me? I had no make up on, my tresses were a mess, but I didn't have it in me to feel too embarrassed...

Or so I thought. Because the next thing I know, Damon is right in front of me, stopping my hand from threading itself in my hair in a pathetic attempt to reign in the mess. The vampire, without a single word and breath fanning over my face, leaned in a little. My heart stuttered, me not being used to his close proximity.

"You look beautiful." His whisper struck me, as I could not fight the blush creeping on my cheeks after hearing those words.

Clearing my throat, I was about to answer with something sarcastic just to diffuse the tension, when his free hand snaked around my neck, stopping as it interlaced itself in the roots of my white hair and succeeding in taking a hold over me. The vampire slowly pushed my head up, so I could stare right back at him. Damon was gazing down at me, his face betraying the sincerity of his words and all I could do was look away, as this was getting too much for me.

"Don't do that." He pleaded, making me suck in a breath at his tone that I could not miss. "Don't look away from me, Adelle." Shaking, I willed myself to turn my eyes back at the gorgeous man in front of me. That had me almost flush against his body.

My heart was beating fast.

A moment longer and I would have lost it.

But then the raven haired man's orbs looked behind me and for a second I recognized an emotion in their depths. Worry. But it was quickly replaced with acceptance and I could not hold it any longer. I looked back only to see Stefan. He was leaning on the near wall, clothes in his right hand, posture relaxed, green eyes staring right back at me, and Damon.

I don't know what came over me, but this whole situation felt too strange. Damon was too close, he was making my legs feel weak. The whole interaction was too … too private and here there was Stefan, watching, not expressing disapproval, or feeling like he was intruding. The vampire almost appeared to be content just...just watching.

And fuck, I needed to get a grip.

This was way too … surreal.

Realizing my discomfort, Damon let me step back, hands falling from where they were touching my body. But in his place came his brother, who stepped in too close for me to handle right now, eyes gentle, but dark too.

Today those two had been in too close proximity of me and my sanity was barely handling it.

"You can use my bathroom. I left some toiletries in there for you as well." He told me carefully and I nodded, knowing that I had lost the ability to speak a long time ago.

Grabbing the extended articles, I almost ran towards the bathroom. Closing the door behind me, I prayed to God that my erratic heart would not be any louder to the two vampires out there.

What were they thinking? What was that all about?

The shower helped me. The warm water relaxed my muscles and I was finally able to control myself. I put on the clothes that Stefan gave me, one of which was a long gray v-neck shirt, that reached down my mid thighs and a set of black boxers that I had to tie securely if I didn't want them to fall. They were big as well as the top, that dangerously would slide down my shoulder every now and then. But it was comfortable, the articles were soft and they smelled like Stefan. I towel dried my hair so that it was still kind of wet, but not dripping and left it down. Looking in the mirror, I saw dark circles under my eyes and I knew that I needed a lot of sleep.

But I hardly believed I would get it, now or in the near future. Not after what happened today, not after I realized that when dead, I could see and talk with my family. Real or not. My hands would start to shake every time I remembered how it felt to be held by Milla. How fucking much I missed my big sister, even if minutes before I had killed the girl I now consider my sibling as well with the exact same hands.

How I held on to my sanity this entire day, was unknown to me. By now I should have broken down, this false front of calm slipping away from me. I knew that I had to hide somewhere, I had to bury myself in a blanket, hide my tears and just let it all out. Then I would hope to fall asleep, even if for two or three hours.

Yes, I needed that. I just hoped that the brothers would give me a room, as far away from theirs as they did for Elena and hoped that they would not hear me cry or had the decency to let me do it alone.

It didn't happen.

As I waked out of Stefan's bathroom, I was met with the said vampire perched on his bed, clothes changed to ones he would be comfortable to sleep in. He was hunched over, head in his hands, fingers threading through his hair. When he heard me, his eyes snapped towards me, quickly sweeping over my body and a glint of something passing over his features. The vampire looked distressed, he looked tired and uncertain. Before I had interrupted, he was in some kind of debate with himself.

"Mommy dearest just received another dose of vervain, she would be out the entire night." Came in the silky voice of Damon, who walked in the room with a smirk in place even if it didn't reach his eyes. For some reason he was faking being relaxed, but I could see he felt...nervous. Tentative?

Oh … and he was naked, only wearing some soft gray long bottoms, no socks or a top. His abs on display.

I looked away quickly before either of them caught me ogling at him. Or his brother.

I nervously grabbed the end of my shirt, feeling two sets of gazes on me. Why was I feeling so … uncomfortable in their presence now? Before today, I had no problem with the Salvatore's being half naked, I had no problem talking with them. Now? There was this silence, that no one knew how to fill.

How the hell did that happen?

Keep it together, Ad!

They are hot. They have been sickly hot the entire time you have been here. Why are you starting to act like a hormonal teen now? What the..?

Forcing myself to look at the two, masking any embarrassment that I might be feeling at the moment, I spared them both a smile.

"Good. I think it would be a wise idea to talk with Isobel in a few days. Then she would be too weak, and if we tell her that Elena is a vampire we might get some reaction out of her." I said.

"You think she will care?" Questioned Damon, an eyebrow quirking up as he took a step closer. I sucked in a breath.

"Elena is her daughter. If there is anyone that could make her flip the switch, it would be her." Stefan answered instead, looking from me to his brother.

What's up with all these looks?

"It's a possibility." I nodded. "We could even make her tell us what is going on, as now Elena is forced to be part of it too." I continued.

"Or I could torture it out of her." Scoffed Damon, rolling his eyes when I glared at him halfheartedly.

Okay. Fuck it. There was definitely something wrong here. Where were my sarcastic comebacks? Why did I feel like those two were just wasting time, talking to me, like they were preparing something else? For a moment, the whole situation appeared to look like I was a caged animal and the brothers were circling around me, preparing to catch me.

"No one is torturing anybody." Stated Stefan, sending a pointed look at the raven haired man who just waved him off.

"I'm in no hurry, brother. If your plan does not succeed, I am just saying that I have a back up." He winked.

I opened my mouth to add something, but the older vampire was right next to me, invading my personal space once again, but this time he didn't only do that. Slowly his hands took hold of me and he pushed me gently towards the bed. For some reason, I didn't fight him as I was pushed to where Stefan was sitting. The younger brother was watching the whole thing like a hawk, searching for something in my eyes.

Normally I would have started to question their bizarre behavior by now, but I was feeling too tired for this. The only thing I wanted was to sleep.

We stopped in front of Stefan. I had somehow found myself between his legs, Damon's hands still holding my mid section. The blond Salvatore looked up at me, hands slowly taking hold of my own. When he spoke, his voice was low, gentle, eyes showing concern. Damon's breath was fanning my neck, as he stood behind me, as close as he could without really touching me.

"How are you feeling, Addie?" Stefan asked.

For some reason, I felt his question wasn't only about my physical and emotional state after today. It felt like he was asking how I was feeling about whatever was happening at this moment. If I was okay with it.

"Tired." I willed myself to answer. My voice wavering for a moment. "Confused. But I'm...I'm okay." The hold around my waist tightened.

"Let's go to bed then." Damon said from behind me. Stefan's eyes snapped abruptly to the other vampire. They looked almost like a warning. Like he was telling him to be careful.

To not push me.

Then the younger vampire was extending his hand towards me, silently letting me make the decision. And I finally understood. He wanted me to sleep in his bed. For a moment, my mind went blank. My heart thudded in shock, but before I could panic I came to the realization that I didn't mind. Even if I wanted to be alone tonight, even if I felt like closing myself from the entire world, the thought of being with someone felt so much better.

So I took his arm, letting him pull me in and lay me down on the mattress. I was uncharacteristically silent and...unmoving. Like a doll that agreed to be moved around. But I felt content. I felt almost secure in his hands, as they were gentle and warm. Damon observed me, as I laid in the middle, sniffing a bit at cold pillows around me. For a moment neither brother knew what to do. I saw an internal battle as one was sitting next to me, while the other stood near us.

Even if I was slow with the realizations tonight, I could see that they were waiting for me. They wanted permission to join me.

Why would they want to? I mean, didn't they know that I was slowly breaking, that all I wanted was to cry and let it out?

But then I saw it. Damon and Stefan were just as tired, both vampires looked like the life had been sucked away. Any energy left in them, any fight or will was gone. Has it been such a shock for them too see me dead for a moment?

Was it possible that…?

I found the answer within myself. I needed both of them. I needed to feel secure, to feel content and whole and cared about. And I knew that they needed it too. After today, we all craved it. We could give it to one another.

So I moved a little, smiling almost shyly, as I saw them slowly creeping in the bed on my two sides.

Normally in these kind of times, when the world was just too much to handle and it was too hard to breathe, I would hug the bed spread tightly, burrow my head in the pillows and cry myself to sleep. In the sanctuary of my dark room, even before I came in this world, I would always do that.

When it just became too much.

Now?

Now it was different.

Instead of hugging myself, on my left side, I felt Stefan laying flush against me, his hand trailed over my own, and then he laced our fingers together, holding gently. His head was next to mine, eyes staring at mine then at my neck where my wound used to be. A pained expression took over his features, guilt and I could not let him go through that. He shouldn't blame himself for my own actions. So I squeezed his hand in reassurance, silently trying to make him see that I was okay, that I was here.

His head nodded curtly and then burrowed itself in my still damp hair, making my heart beat faster then it already was. His other arm came to rest above me, and I felt his fingers slowly playing with my white strands. The motion seemed to calm him down as from time to time, he would move his nose, up and down the skin of my temple.

Damon was on my other side and, because he had no shirt on, I could feel every muscle on his chest as he laid down next me. His blue eyes were dark and intense, and all I could do was stare right back at them as he engulfed me in his embrace. His left hand had snaked itself around my midsection, pulling me against his torso, pushing me to turn my body towards his. My head was laying on his chest, while his was in the crook of my neck.

Like that I found myself between the brothers, my back against the front of Stefan, his head on top of mine, my front facing Damon's chest, face resting just above his beating heart.

God damn it.

Never have I felt so much at home.

Never have I felt so cared for. So wanted. So fucking secure.

It was making my head spin and my breath hitch.

Before I knew it, tears were streaming down my cheeks. I was whimpering almost inaudibly, my whole being shaking. I was breaking down. Today's occurrence finally took its toll on me. It was too much. I can't be always in control, I can't always reign in my emotions.

So I needed this, I needed to just let it out. Since I had come into this universe, I had only done this once; when the realization had finally sunk in that I was stuck here. The second time was now, as I had gotten a glimpse of my dear sister and as I had been pushed to do the one thing I never knew I was capable of doing. I have killed someone. I have killed and stolen the choice from a human girl that did not deserve to have this kind of life, just for the greater good. I knew that it was the right thing to do, but it wasn't easy, it didn't mean there would not be repercussions.

I have fucking killed somebody.

How was I able too look Elena in the eyes, and know that whatever happened to her from today on, it would be my fault? Every mistake, every death, it would be because of me.

If she found out one day, if she knew what I have done...Elena, Jeremy, all of them, they would hate me.

They would hate me!

In midst of my thoughts, of my uncomfortable crying I heard the gentle voice of Damon. He was whispering to me, hand under my shirt caressing my skin trying to calm me down. His words were reassuring, loving, filled with so much devotion that it made my whole entire world turn around.

"Shh. You are safe. We are here. Everything will be okay. I won't let anything happen to you. Addie. Breath. I'm here."

I was only able to nod and whimper, burrowing my head more into his inviting chest. Letting out ragged short breaths.

Stefan's hand was the other thing that kept me grounded in that moment, keeping me from loosing myself in the unexpected grief I felt and the guilt that washed over me. He was holding my trembling fingers, kissing them, then my temple, murmuring just like his brother words of support. His voice was filled with worry and pain, like it pained him to hear and see me like that. He was kissing away my tears and that realization made me sob even harder.

How have I been able to live without them before?

How have I been able to get it together, to be strong and fight all my demons alone. Without them?

Because I just could not imagine myself succeeding if it wasn't for Stefan and Damon.

The minutes passed. I wasn't sure how long my break down lasted. But when I was finally able to breath without choking on my tears, I felt myself relaxing and moving even closer to both vampires.

I was so tired. All I wanted was to sleep.

And I did, not once waking up. Not once dreaming of monsters, of mistakes, of death and responsibilities. Of being alone.

Because I wasn't.

I had them both with me, around me, holding me, supporting me.

It was addicting.

* * *

Things fell in some kind of routine for the next week. Every morning I would wake up in the hands of the two Salvatore brothers, holding me. In some kind of way they would be touching my bare skin- be it hands under my shirt, or on my thighs. Jeremy would be down in the parlor with Beluga by the time either Stefan or Damon would let me get up, as it appeared they did not like waking up early.

Then I would have breakfast with Ric at his place, my dog with me, telling him what was going on while Jer was spending his morning with Elena.

Forced to go to school, we would then come back to the boarding house with Bonnie, who would help Elena in her training with Stefan on how to control her vampire side. From time to time I would go out with Caroline or Tyler in the afternoons, but mostly I would spend my time in the big mansion of the Salvatore brothers.

Jenna had agreed to let me stay there till Elena had a grip on her new abilities and was okay to go home. Till then I could sleep at the boarding house.

The doppelganger was slowly succeeding in all of it, but then again Stefan was very helpful and Bonnie did everything to facilitate her transition. Thankfully Damon stayed away from her, as I did not miss the times when he would look at the new vampire in a way that displayed how he had not forgotten that she was the one to kill me.

He was his same sarcastic self and I was glad that Elena did not fall for his glares, because that would just make things harder for her.

Isobel on the other hand had no idea what was going on, as most of the times she was unconscious, barely surviving on the small doses of blood the brothers gave her. She refused to talk for the moment, and Elena didn't want to see her till she got her control back. So we were playing the waiting game.

I didn't mind too much, even if I knew that the longer we did it, the bigger the chance was for Katherine to show up unannounced to all of us still unprepared. I couldn't let that happen. Isobel knew all about her real plans, she had to tell the gang about it before the bitch came in town.

I just hoped that the manipulative woman was too occupied fucking Tyler's uncle to notice that her two bees – Isobel and John, were nowhere to be found.

But then thanks to the time we had for the moment, it allowed me to get used to the things that have changed after the night I fell asleep in the holds of Damon and Stefan. From then on, even if I wasn't sleeping with the two of them, for example staying in Elena's bedroom, I would find myself waking up in the morning in the middle of the Salvatore vampires.

That wasn't the only thing that changed between the three of us.

Every moment when one of them was close to me, the vampires would find some reason to touch me, to lay a hand on my skin. I would be enticed by them. I would want to be close to them, to talk, to make them smile for me and let them kiss my neck, cheek or head. I would provoke them in some kind of way and push them till they could do nothing but display those intense emotions that made my skin prick, my heart beat faster and my breath to get shallow.

It was all stolen glances.

Secret smiles.

Whispered words.

Grazing touches.

Entangled bodies every night.

I was getting addicted to them. To what they gave me. To what they made me give in return.

And I fucking didn't care.


	13. Chapter 13

Disclaimer

I do not own Vampire Diaries. The O.C. is my only original character.

This story will follow the series to some extend, there will be a lot of changes and you will find a partial O.O.C. here.

It will be rated **[M]** for future chapters and yes it will be a **Menage love story/P** **olygamous relationship** , if you don't like please don't read.

I welcome constructive criticism and if you would like to help me with that, please write me a P.M.

Big thanks to my Beta - Cici ( _DontMessWithUndertaker)_ for correcting this chapter! ^w^

 **[!]** Comments. Follows. Any kind of support is highly appreciated. No kidding, it does give the motivation to update faster!

* * *

Chapter 13

Ok.

So I lied.

I cared. A lot. And that scared the shit out of me.

Why? Simple. The more time I spent in the boarding house, the more I saw Stefan and Damon. The more I saw them, the more this...thing between the three of us was getting a bit too comfortable.

And I could not get comfortable. Period. I could not get used to the attention, to those sincere smiles, warm set of green and blue eyes. I could not start craving their presence.

I knew, I just fucking knew, that I had feelings for the Salvatore's. And why the heck I would not? I knew that Elena, Jeremy, Tyler, Care and Bonnie had become a second family to me. Alaric was like my shrink just as much as I was his. And Beluga had stolen my soul from the moment I saw him, but I had promised to myself that I would keep a distance.

At least as much as I could. I had my real family waiting for me; I had a real sister, a real mother and father. I had a whole other life that I could not abandon, just because I liked it here.

No matter how selfish I was and will always be, the mere thought of not seeing any of them again made me lose my mind. But then I could hardly imagine my world without those supernatural fuckers either.

Every second I spent not knowing what was going on, in not finding the answers I was looking for, was another moment spent feeling like I was split in half. It hurt so damn much, because no matter how much fun I had in this universe, it still was not enough.

I just wanted to find some closure. No matter what.

And spending so much time with the two vampires was not helping my case. On the contrary; For a while, I almost forgot all about my problems. Being around them had that effect on me, but on the fourth morning that I woke up between them, I was hit with the wave of realization.

It was my father's birthday.

It was my father's fucking birthday, and I was not there to spend it with him. With my family.

That was the hardest thing to swallow, and because of it I almost had a panic attack.

I knew that I was letting this go back and forth, this dance to keep on playing between the Salvatore's and me. I knew that it was leading in a direction I was too afraid to voice even in my own head...and I was just so damn fine with it. So damn fine, that I almost forgot I wasn't from here. None of us said anything about what was happening, and for the moment I would leave it like that. But this wake up call reminded me that I had things to do. Places to search, stories to change. That's why I disentangled myself from their grasps, and miraculously fled out of the boarding house.

Today, Elena was going to finally talk with Isobel. The said vampire had been locked in the basement long enough and while I expected a lot of things, I had no desire to participate in this family drama. Alaric, Damon and Stefan would be there for the doppelganger so my presence wasn't so crucial. I suspected that the shock of finding out that her daughter was a vampire and what that entitled for the future would shock the vervained vampire so much that she would tell them the entire truth. I was sure that Isobel cared at least a little for Elena, and that she would spill the beans on Katherine's plans and the curse. That would facilitate my lying a lot as I was hoping that towards the end of the day, everyone from the scooby doo gang would be up to date with the two biggest threats in the show. Kat and Klaus.

If I was lucky, that would happen and I would not have to look for another way for them to find out about it. The changes will be a lot easier for me to orchestrate and the brothers would have a lot on their hands and would back off a little bit.

I hoped.

Because if it was up to me, I would not be able to do it on my own.

I was selfish. Didn't I say so?

So if I was right, today will be filled with too much crying, anger and angst for my taste, so if I had another option...which I always do, I was planning on being as far away as possible. Lena was gaining control very fast, so she didn't need me to be there so much and I had already left a message in the kitchen to all of them that I would be out of town.

 _'You know...bonding time with my bestie and Jer-Jer.'_ I had written, which meant Tyler and Jeremy. Those two, even if they were far from being close like they are in the future, were still fun to be around and had no problem with my strange mood swings and desire to do questionable things. It was easy to rope them into this little adventure, as it wasn't the first time for me to wake them up so early in the morning with no clear plan for what I had in store and a bag of breakfast and coffee.

I was predictable like that.

With little grumbling, whining and cursing the three of us were on the road in less than thirty minutes. Yes, I admit to kicking them both out of their respectable beds with force, but those suckers adored me too much to say no to me. And I had no problem taking advantage of this.

"Tell me once more what are we doing here?" asked the future wolf, as he folded his arms and looked at me with a frown. I had drove us to few towns over and after having a second breakfast with the boys, I forced them to go in a vintage store. While walking around it, Jeremy had the decency to at least pretend he was listening to what I was talking about, while Tyler was too busy flirting with one of the clerks in the shop. That's why the bastard had no idea why we were here.

"Dearest brother, would you do the honor of answering this idiot's question?" I batted my eyelashes at the kid and ignored his scoff.

The fuck? I was so polite! What a despicable young man.

"Just pick up something, Lockwood. How did you call it? Ah." the Gilbert sarcastically waved his hand around, exaggerating my manners. Tch. Piece of… "Pick an item that represents something about you…or about whatever."

I groaned loudly.

Unbelievable!

"We are sending a package each to random addresses from across the world. In them we will put cool things: funny letters and etc. The person that will receive them will be surprised and if they are cool they will send something back! It's like early Christmas and I don't know why it is so hard to grasp the whole idea." I glared at them. Stopping to check an old flag. Hm.. it's not bad. If I paired it with some delicious sweets and what not, the gift would be very patriotic!

"So …you want to send a total stranger a package of stuff...and what…?" Tyler asked and I was ready to lash out by how slow he was; but then I noticed he and Jeremy were looking around, picking and choosing things that they will put in their mails. Heh!

So cute! Look at those dumbasses! They clearly don't understand my awesome idea but are still on board with doing it.

The thing is that this wasn't new for me. It was a tradition in my family so to speak. Each year on my father's birthday, he would decline any kind of presents, so we came up with this solution. If he didn't want anything we would send to four addresses hand picked presents and call it a day. Most of the time the things we put in the boxes were candies and random funny shit that would make the day of a stranger just a tad bit better. We would attach a letter as well, telling this stranger about us and even add photos.

This was my father's way of saying thank you to the universe for giving him another year with us, with his family. The best thing was that we did it together and sometimes we would receive something from those strangers. And let me tell you there is this awesome feeling that comes with the realization you have made a connection with somebody that was different and more emotionally unique then Facebook could ever be.

That's what I told Tyler and Jeremy as well; of course without the whole other dimensional family I was keeping secret and thankfully it made just as much sense to them as it did for me. And I was fucking grateful, because this was the closest way I could be to my parents on this day. And I needed it. Desperately.

"Sometimes, I wonder how you come up with this shit." The werewolf-to-be shook his head but I did not miss the genuine smile gracing his face. Jeremy was only able to stare at me, like he was seeing someone completely different then the sister he grew up to know.

Meh. Get used to it punk.

When done with the vintage store we went to another shop that was full with decorations, prank things and fun-everything. That's where the guys got really excited, like it was the best place and they were acting like little kids.

Jeremy was just smelling something with questionable origin, when I was done with what I would be putting in my package.

"By the way, what is up with Elena? She has been skipping school for over a week and don't sell me that she-is-sick shit." Tyler asked and I saw how Jer tensed for a moment, but did not take his nose away from the package of smelling bombs.

"Oh, you know..." I shrugged. "She is getting used to being a bloodsucker and training to not make me or Jer-Jer here diner." I waved of. "The usual."

Choking.

Gilbert spluttered, almost falling on his ass with how fast he turned around, his eyes bulging out of their sockets. The look on his face was priceless and the panic there was amusing me too much to care really.

Tyler had to find out sooner or later about what was going on around Mystic falls, and it would be better if it came from us and not his uncle. I was going to slowly ease it onto him.

Or not.

It depends on my mood to be honest.

"Yeah, yeah. Whatever." The boy rolled his eyes, not for a second taking me seriously. Man this would be fun. "Don't tell me if you don't want to." Jeremy visibly deflated and then glared at me, but I had long ago chosen to ignore him.

And let's be real his reactions are too funny.

I grinned at the two, continuing down the aisle, pushing the cart with the many things those two had picked up. Turning around a little, I saw Tyler following me unconcerned, my brother few steps behind him.

"Hm, yes, don't believe me. But then that would mean Alaric isn't a vampire hunter and that the Salvatore's aren't more than a hundred years old either. But whatever." I smirked. "It's not like you are a werewolf or something too."

The youngest Gilbert paled and then turned a shade of green- successfully tripping and falling face first on the ground. Tyler ignored the kid, as he just continued on walking, passing me by with only another roll of eyes. Man, the quarterback wasn't taking any of my shit. I had stopped, though, as the said fall of my other-dimensional brother looked painful, but even if it did, I was hardly containing my chuckling. And the kid stood up just as quickly as he fell, waving his hands so much that he barely missed another customer that was just walking from behind him.

"What are you doing?" He shouted-whispered at me when he finally reached me, looking around for Tyler who disappeared in the next aisle and then sending me a glare that said something in the lines of... 'Do you want Damon to skin us alive?'

I shrugged once more, because who cared about the raven vampire. He would get over it, as Jeremy would get over his rightly placed fear from the said man.

"Tyler would find out eventually, Jeremy. I am just speeding up the process." I told him.

"Yeah? And what is this talk about werewolves exactly?" He narrowed his brown orbs at me suspiciously, probably getting that I knew things that I haven't told him about.

Huh…

He would get over that as well.

And just as I was about to tell him the same exact thing, the future wolf came from around to corner, looking at us questioningly.

"Hurry up already. I want to send this package this year. There is a party tonight that I would prefer not to miss."

If he noticed the way Jeremy looked like someone hit him with a wet sponge or the way the kid was acting too energetically positive for his emo demure, the teen didn't question it.

By now, Tyler Lockwood was used to the strangeness the Gilbert's, especially me, were surrounded with.

Bless his soul.

"Y-yeah! We are coming!" Forcefully grinned the boy next to me, and man it looked so fake that I was ready to face palm myself.

"Whatever." The quarterback waved us off and disappeared once again.

"Don't tell him anything." Jeremy pointed an accusing finger at me and then even added the glare...just to make a 'point'.

It was sufficed to say that after picking up random places/addresses from around the globe and sending our three packages we were done for the day. The whole thing made me feel a tad bit better and even if my father wasn't here with me to do this as a family, I still respected our tradition.

My spirit was lifted.

And I was … calmer.

Add to the mix: two cups of coffee, good music and the three hours of driving we had till we got back to Mystic Falls, and I did not even try to stop myself from blabbering the truth.

"Yeah...so the shit I told you about vampires, hunters and werewolves back in the store? I wasn't kidding."

And let's not delusion ourselves, the way Jeremy smacked his head in the dashboard and then hissed, while trying to lie our way out of it was so worth the need to repeat for the millionth time what was the real deal with the residents in the small town.

I just loved the sense of fucking shocking someone so much, that they could not close their mouths for a while.

But then I could not let Katherine manipulate both Lockwood's on her side either. She could keep Mason, but Tyler was mine and she would not lay a finger on him. And to do that, he needed to know the truth.

And hey, what better way to fill the hours of boring driving then to re-tell about the whole other world filled with supernatural shit?

Hmm?

* * *

Entering Mystic Falls made my heart beat faster. The fun was over and I had this gnawing feeling that whatever I was going to see in the boarding house, was going to bring me too much trouble. Will that be emotional or just plain irritation? Today was supposed to be one of the greatest days in the year but instead of being with my family, of having an amazing time doing even more crazy things with them, I had to stay here and push all the pain and longing deep down. Just so I could keep it a secret.

I didn't want to deal with drama. With curses, Katherinas and werewolves.

I wanted to curl myself up on the couch with my dad and watch sports and make sarcastic comments about my mum's obsession with making the perfect birthday dinner for my father.

We all knew that it didn't matter if we ate junk food or a fancy home cooked meal. We didn't care. What made this day so special was that all of us took the time off just to spend it like a family. And that's why, for the life of me, I could not feel anything but loneliness. Because it just proved to me once more that I was as far away from them as it could ever be possible.

This knowledge was like a knife going straight through my heart and if I hadn't made myself so occupied with Jeremy and Tyler, I might as well have spent the day crying my fucking eyes out.

So sue me. Judge me for all I care.

I felt like making everyone else around me feel just as bad as I was feeling. I was a selfish creature that selfishly needed her mum and dad, her sister and niece. So go ahead and tell me how harsh I was for rambling the entire true about what was happening around here to Tyler. I was cruel, I lacked any tact, and for the most part I didn't even consider the way my actions changed the world of one boy.

Later maybe I would feel like the lowest of the low. I would feel like the worst friend ever. But not now.

All the way to the small town, that I was now resident in, I had sprout the whole deal to the unsuspected teenager. Jeremy was glaring at me, but I ignored it; I ignored the disappointment in his eyes. Yes I had a way of serving this kind of info and he knew it, but my presumed brother knew that I have never done it in such cold way.

Both of them could probably hear the iciness in my voice. The humor was long gone. And with each passing moment, with each passing sentence I saw the way the world Tyler knew crumbled down.

Jeremy at least tried to be more gentle. He at first didn't believe that his kinda-friend had the gene of a werewolf but it took him just a few minutes to realize that I wasn't kidding. Maybe it was the fact that till now everything I had said about supernatural creatures came out to be true, or maybe it was the small lie - that Bonnie's grams had sensed it in his blood.

It didn't matter.

Said wolf had been uncharacteristically silent: just staring at me, not asking anything, just listening.

That is, till we rounded the corner of the boarding house.

"How can I believe you?" He asked.

As I shut down the car, Jeremy wasted no time springing out of the vehicle and running towards the house. No doubt trying to warn the people there of what I have done. I turned towards the quarterback and stared at him.

"If you want proof you can come in. There you will find more than one." I answered. And as I was about get out he grabbed my hand, stopping me. There on his face I saw fear, I saw pure confusion and hurt as well. My chest felt heavy. I did this.

"What's going on, Ad? Am...am I such a monster that you…you look at me like that?" The boy asked almost tentatively. Sucking in a deep surprised breath, I couldn't hold back the wince.

What was I doing? How would making his life a living hell make me feel better? Tyler had nothing to do with my internal misery. He wasn't at fault for what I was going through. On the contrary, he had done and obliged everything I had forced him to do today; no questioning, no denying.

And this is the way I repaid him for being a good friend? How could I do that?

Fuck.

But before I was able to apologize or attempt to soothe his fears even just a bit, his door was yanked open and his body was grabbed with great force.

Panicking I ran out as well. There, caging one of my best friends like he was a pray against the car, holding him in a painful death grip around the neck was Damon. His eyes were black, his fangs were out and his whole body screamed rage.

Shit. Jeremy hadn't succeeded in whatever he was attempting.

From the open door ran out the said boy, shouting at the vampire.

"Let him go! He doesn't know anything!" Behind him, Alaric was trying to hold him back, knowing that a human could never stop a vampire.

"Be a good dog and start talking, pup." Damon hissed in his face, tightening his grip around Tyler's neck. The teen was having a hard time breathing, his eyes screamed fear and astonishment, probably from the fact that he just got his proof about what I told him was true.

"Damon, calm down." Swooshed in Stefan, who now was holding the wrist of his brother which was slowly crushing my friend's neck. The younger brother stared at him then his green eyes moved towards me, they were unreadable but this action provoked Damon to gaze at me as well. For a second, there was surprise on his face, like he just now realized I was there. Then it morphed into anger. Anger directed at me. Stefan used the distraction to yank his sibling's hand away from the terrified future-wolf, who sagged down to the ground and coughed.

Jeremy ran towards him, pushing the raven haired man out of the way with as much force as he could, and crouched down to check on the other boy. Damon's eyes narrowed, the anger still very present but he didn't move. His brother was still holding his hand.

And thank God, because the glares Elena's brother was sending his way would no doubt make him want to snap the kid's neck.

It didn't happen, because now his blue eyes were directed solely on me. Just like Stefan. Neither looked happy.

The ex-ripper stepped closer to me, his eyes showing the intent to shout at me, or question or just bring me into his arms. Nothing like that happened because just as he was getting closer, Damon was right in front of me. The vampire face was gone, but it was replaced with another of rage.

"I am starting to consider draining you of any vervain so that I can find out what else you have been so graciously hiding from all of us." His velvet tone was low and cold. His eyes were hard and his fingers were twitching either with the intent to strangle me, or shake me till I got some sense in me and tell him all of my secrets.

"For the first time, I agree with you, brother." Stefan joined his side, and I noticed the stiffness in his shoulders, the scowl on his face and the worry in his eyes.

Both brothers didn't like being in the dark and slowly they were starting to realize that I was hiding things from them. And that note of hurt I saw in them was because they thought I could not trust them, that I could not confide in them.

That wasn't the case. But I still had to hold back a lot. It wasn't the time and I couldn't protect them if they knew the entire truth. So if it made them angry, disappointed and it pushed them away from me, I would take it.

Too bad today was just not my day and if they didn't back off and give me space to breath any moment now I might break down and say something hurtful that I didn't mean.

Thankfully, Elena came out of nowhere, speeding in between me and the brothers. I could not see her face but I knew she was glaring at both of them.

"You do something like that and I will rip you apart. Don't underestimate me." She threatened and I was stunned into silence.

What the hell?

Had I missed something? Since when did Elena became such a badass? In the show she would never act like that towards either Salvatore.

"I would like to see you try." Damon scoffed, his eyes never leaving me, like the doppelganger wasn't standing there. I could see it, his irritation that was slowly pushing him to lash out once more. He didn't like having something between me and himself.

I wasn't sure if I should be scared or pleased.

"You touch my sister and I will show you just how creative I can get." Elena fired right back.

Realization struck me. The oldest Gilbert was protecting me. She was doing what any big sister would do for her younger sibling. That is, even going against two old vampires just to make sure I wasn't being compelled. She definitely didn't like the thought of me losing my will. Even if they would get some answers they were all too curious about.

What a shocking difference from the Elena in the series. There she gladly let Jeremy be compelled, here she would put herself at risk to prevent it from happening to me. Even if they all had every right to force answers from me.

"I have a better idea." Alaric stepped in, holding Tyler up on his feet with the help of Jeremy. "Why don't we all go inside and talk about what is happening in the most civil way possible?" He proposed and didn't even wait for any of us to agree before pulling the two boys towards the boarding house. The rest of us didn't move, there was this stare down going on between Elena and Damon and the latter visibly wanted to snap at my-not-so-much-sister-sister just so he could get to me.

Stefan on the other hand was observing me. Trying to read me or something, just like the first time we met. He, opposite of his brother, was not hiding his worry with anger. He was letting me see it clearly, like the vampire knew I would get it.

And I did.

Neither brother truly wanted to hurt me or steal my freedom from me. They were both fucking worried for my well being, and I knew that they liked to be in control, to know everything. And my secrecy was making it more and more difficult to be ignored as it slowly came out that I was well informed about a lot of things.

And it hurt them. Even if Damon would hide it behind a mask of anger, he and Stefan were hurt that I would keep on lying. They didn't know why, or how much I knew, just that I had too many secrets and even if we were getting closer I was still not letting them get anywhere near me completely.

If I was in their place I would feel the same way.

But then again, I didn't know what truly went through their heads. What either of them saw me as. Friend? Little sister? A fragile human? Someone fun to be around? A lover?

The last one almost made me shudder.

If either of them did think of me like that; If they felt something for me in this sense of the word, worse if they both did, I could only imagine the progress that they had made with their bond shattering into hundreds of pieces. I was not going to be the next doppelganger.

I could not break them like that. In my mind they were equals. Both good. Both bad. Both special. Both holding parts of me. Neither was better than the other. And I could not dive into this...whatever this is just so I would have to choose. Because there was no choice. There was no first or second.

So what was going on? This closeness, those touches, smiles and nights in the same bed...they had to be just that.

Nothing more, nothing less.

I was selfish enough to let them completely go. I didn't want to get back to the beginning. I craved this connection I shared with the Salvatore's. It brought me peace and a way to cope with the absence of my real support system in the face of my family.

Damon and Stefan were the pillar keeping me standing. And I would not ruin it by falling for both of them. I would never choose one of the two. I could not do it.

So I wouldn't let it get to there.

Because in my gut I knew that if I loved one, I would love the other just as hard. I would never be able to pick. I would never ask them to do it for me or stand in some kind of relationship that obligated them to share my time.

I was no Katherine.

I was happy to have them the way I did right now. Anything more and I would be forced to let go of Damon or Stefan. And I could not do that.

So I would not fall for them.

That simple.

I would do whatever I can and even if you think I am stupid, derange or in denial … then fine. I would stay that way. I would push another thing down so I could make sure that they would stay together.

"I will tell you whatever you want." I finally spoke, capturing the three vampires attention.

"Like you have a choice, sweetheart." Damon smirked. And even if I still saw the anger in his eyes, I didn't missed the way his body relaxed just a bit. He was probably preparing himself to fight me till I told them what they wanted to know. Stefan smiled, a tiny almost invisible one, but still a smile. Gratefulness shining in his green orbs.

Elena huffed, glared at them, then grabbed my hand and pulled me towards the entrance of the vampire's home.

As we walked in, Tyler was sitting quietly on one of the sofas, still as a statue and listening to whatever Alaric was telling him. Around his neck was painted a big blue bruise that I knew hurt like hell and the guilt that hit me in this moment almost brought me to my knees.

I did this.

I almost broke my friend.

If I had more control over my feelings, I could have told him everything in a much better way. I could have prevented this from happening.

Stefan and Damon walked right in, one sitting on the couch opposite from the future-wolf, looking at the said boy apologetically, while the other went straight to the alcohol table and opened the bourbon.

Tyler paled a bit. Jeremy glared daggers at the older Salvatore. Alaric looked exasperated.

I had to fix this.

And let's not forget that until I did, no one will say what happened with Isobel, how their talk went and what they found out.

Taking a deep long breath, I started my explanation.

"When we found out about the existence of werewolves I started to be more observant of the people around town. Sheila said there were no wolves in Mystic falls and I believed her …to some extent. She might not have lied to me entirely, because there truly wasn't a transforming were here. But that didn't mean there wasn't a possibility of people having the gene. I looked for clues, especially around full moon and then I saw the signs in Tyler. He would get angry, so much so that he would lose control if provoked. He would get stronger. I wasn't sure but then I checked the Johnathan's journal and saw that he had some suspicions of the Lockwoods hiding something like that. He thought they were vampires but when vervain did affect them he let it go."

"So you are not sure?" Asked Tyler, some eagerness in his voice betrayed that he didn't want it to be true either.

"We can always force you to kill somebody and see what happens." Damon quipped sarcastically, swirling his drink in the glass and basking in the many scowls directed at him.

At least he wasn't murderous at the moment.

"Or we can ask Sheila to try and sense it." Stefan proposed forcefully, trying to prevent any argument or fight that might rise.

"Brother, brother, always the peacemaker. I say we just kill the mutt and get it over with." The raven haired man fired back, getting the exact reaction he wanted.

Jeremy jumped and shouted at him. Elena hissed, losing control over the transformation of her eyes. Alaric held Tyler back from also lashing out.

Stefan just shook his head. He and I knew that his brother only said that to let his hidden annoyance out. This was the way Damon got when he was left out of the loop. He knew that I didn't like it, and that's why he pestered and threatened even more. And maybe even just a little, he really did consider killing the innocent teen.

"Okay. Calm down, everyone." Alaric stood up, bringing Jeremy back down on the sofa. The kid huffed but complied, trying to reign in his annoyance. He sure as hell had nothing good to say for the raven haired vampire at the moment. But strangely enough after sparing Tyler a glance, seeing how the quarterback looked like his world had just crumbled around him, the youngest Gilbert took a deep breath and patted the future-wolf on the back, an attempt to calm him down.

It was such a strange thing to witness, normally those two didn't talk with each other but whenever I saw them together they looked comfortable. If they let their walls down as well, the guys appeared to even be friends.

This protectiveness shouldn't surprise me so much. Jeremy was a good kid. And Tyler may appear to be a total douche but he still wasn't so brave. He still hadn't gone through losing his father and mother. He still hadn't gone through his first transformation. The Tyler before me was just a normal teenager who just found himself in the middle of something no one wished to be in.

And I had not let him in on that too nicely.

Shit.

I really had to make it up to him.

That's when I saw Elena pulling out her phone.

"Bonnie? Hey. Can you come to the boarding house...No. Nothing bad, per say. I...there is some things you need to know and to check if something we are assuming is actually correct." A pause. "Okay. Thank you. See you in a bit." Then the new vampire hung up.

Turning towards us she spoke.

"Bonnie is on her way. When she comes in we will find out if what Addie is saying is true. From there, we will think of a way to make sure that Tyler is just as protected as everyone else in the room is." She then looked at me. "And if you are right, then we have to make sure that Ty doesn't go through this. Right?"

I smiled. Look at her! Look at how in control Elena is. How independent and confident the girl looks.

See? I told you. When she is not deep in the love triangle between the two Salvatore's the doppelganger could be such a badass. She relies on herself. She doesn't need distractions. She fights her own battles.

My feeling proud of my-not-so-much-sister-but-sister showed on my face it seems, cause the said girl grinned back at me and even looked embarrassed for a moment. Like she was happy to see that her baby sis was so pleased with the way she grew up and stepped up to being a responsible sibling.

Good girl.

I almost wanted to pat her head.

Almost.

But then Stefan had to open his mouth.

"Why did you keep that a secret, Adelle?" The younger Salvatore asked me. And just like that the moment of easiness I felt vanished.

Poof.

Threading my fingers through my hair and ignoring the heated stares from both brothers I turned towards Tyler and Jeremy, who were looking at me.

"I'm sorry, Ty." I gulped. "I had no right to tell you something like that the way I did. I…I wasn't feeling okay and I let it out on you. I..." Averting my eyes, I willed myself to calm down, once again feeling guilty. "I know that you don't want anything to do with any of this and I had no right to keep it a secret, especially from you. But till now I didn't know how to tell you the truth. I wanted you to know, I wanted you to be aware of what is happening and instead of easing you into it slowly, like a true friend should have I just...I just dropped it on you, without really thinking of the consequences."

"Ad..." Snapping my head back towards the future wolf, I saw he had stood up and was walking towards me. Jeremy was behind him, still on the couch, and looked a lot better, a lot calmer. Like he was happy to see me admit my mistake.

Then the quarterback hugged me. I hugged him back with just as much force as he did.

"I know you didn't do it on purpose." But I did… "From the looks of it I would have found out sooner or later. Even if you didn't do it in the best way possible, I am still happy that it was you who told me." I nodded, closing my eyes and getting even closer to the boy I considered a big brother. "I...I still am probably in shock, to tell you the truth. So that's why I am so calm for the most part. Maybe I will need a little bit of time to process all of it...you know, the existence of vampires and what not. Especially if what you are saying about me is true. I would need to talk with my father as well." I nodded once again.

"I'm sorry, Ty."

"I know." When we pulled back a little, he had a small smile on his face and that eased up a bit the worry and the guilt still gnawing in my heart.

That's when I decided that if I had any way of preventing the boy from becoming a werewolf I would do whatever it took to keep him human.

All of a sudden, though, I was pulled away from his embrace. Stumbling back few steps I saw Damon holding my midsection, a hard look on his face and a scowl turning his lips.

"Blah…blah...blah. That was so sweet that I might as well puke right now." He glared at Elena who was about to take a step towards us, rendering her to stop dead in her tracks.

"Damon..." Ric started but was completely ignored by the highly annoyed vampire, who was still holding me, his chest touching my back, towering over me.

"While you all wait for Bon-Bon-witchy-ju-ju to come and tell us if Ty-Ty here will someday turn into a furry vampire killing machine, I would like to have a word with the sweet Adelle over here." His eyes swept over everyone. "Alone."

Before anyone could protest, I was lifted from the ground and blurriness took over my vision. My breath caught in my throat and a second later we were in his bedroom.

"So, it's really hard to decide what exactly I should be angry about." Started the vampire, backing me towards his bed, and when I knees touched the mattress I forced myself not to move more. Even if the infuriating gorgeous raven haired man was getting too close to my personal space. "Should it be that when I woke up you were nowhere to be found? Leaving only a stupid note and not answering your phone the entire day? Or should it be because you decided you could just hide something as serious as the presence of a werewolf in town?" I gulped. His blue eyes darkened, following the movement of my throat. Then they snapped back to my eyes. "Better yet, how about the fact that you told somebody our secret without consulting me or Stefan? Hmm?"

I didn't know what to tell him.

Damon had every right to be angry. Every right to lash out. Maybe if it was any other day I would have countered him with something sarcastic, but not today.

"Or maybe I could be the one to tell the real reason." My eyes went towards the door where Stefan was now leaning, observing the whole thing. "Of how easy is it for you to let someone else embrace you like that. Of how you let someone else touch you so freely and how it's him you told first about this little secret you decided to spare from us." With each sentence my heart raced a bit faster, watching as the blond brother came closer and closer, just like Damon.

Making me feel like a was prey that has been captured in a trap.

The ex-Ripper was now as close as his brother, extending a slow hand towards me, pulling out a strand of my wavy white hair and twisting it towards his lips. Eyes not leaving mine for a second.

Shit.

I couldn't stop the small intake of breath I took, opening my lips just a tiny bit. They heard it, they both saw it. Now two set of orbs sole attention was on my lips. There was no where to move. If I stepped back I would topple over onto the bed, and that was not the place I wanted to find myself in when those two were looking at me like that.

I forced myself to calm down. Once, twice. I looked at the Salvatore's with whole new determination. If they wanted to know the truth I would give it to them.

"First of all, I needed to be out of town today. I had planned something and I don't see why it is any of your business what I was doing with my brother and my best friend. I didn't pick up the phone because I didn't want to. If it was something so important you would have called Jeremy." Damon glared. Stefan narrowed his eyes.

Good.

They should get it through their thick heads that I was no Elena. I didn't owe them anything. They could not dictate what I did.

"Second, I didn't say anything about my assumptions of Tyler being a werewolf because of the risk that you two would hurt him. And before you try and defend your actions Damon, just remind yourself that Ty is my best friend and that he had no idea what was going on. But instead of you acting like your age, you let your anger take over." We stared at each other. "I don't appreciate someone threatening the people close to me, even if that someone is you."

No one said anything for a moment.

"Third, I know it wasn't my secret to tell. And I should have asked you before that, so I am sorry." The big contrast between the glare I had previously and the sincere and apologetic voice I now used rendered them to an even bigger stunned silence.

What?

Was it so hard to believe that I could take responsibility for my mistakes?

Really?

Whatever.

Using the opportunity, I finished my speech.

"And for the last thing." My eyes were now solely on Stefan. "I have no idea what you are talking about."

There was a chuckle. Snapping my head back towards Damon, I saw him smirking and shaking his head in what seems to be disbelieve.

"I seriously don't know what to do with you, Adelle." His voice was lower than expected. He shortened the distance even more between us, so our noses were almost touching. "How can you make me feel so contradicted all at the same time?" And there, right in his blue eyes, I saw true wonder. He was asking this question seriously.

"Once again I have no idea what..." Before I could finish, Stefan spoke.

"What Damon is trying to say is that..." He took my hand, fingers threading through mine, face coming closer, leaning on my shoulder. The said vampire was a lot taller then me, so this position looked like he had to crouch down a bit, but he didn't seem to mind it. Most of all, Stefan appeared to be resting his head there, because this was the next best thing to being close to me. Just like the way Damon was hovering in front of me. And...and it appeared like he was tired and just wanted to touch me. "You are unknowingly provoking a baser part of our nature, Addie." Stefan continued. His tone husky and fanning over my pulse point. "You may not see it often and thus tend to forget it, but we are only part human. The other part, the vampire, that's the animal filled with instincts. And those instincts can only be controlled so much, till you come in and make it close to impossible."

What the…?

"It's a constant fight, sweet Adelle." Damon said next, eyes closer, nose ghosting over my face, caressing my cheek bones, my forehead, eyelids and upper lip. "To kill you..."

"Or to devour you." Finished Stefan.

The gasp that left me was inevitable.

The prey thing I told you about minutes ago? Yeah, right about now it was magnified by a hundred.

And instead of feeling afraid, my heart was ready to burst out of my chest. Those admissions should not make me feel so good.

But to hell with it! What was I supposed to say? Huh?

Oh! Thank you, I guess...you know for wanting to eat me...or whatever your dirty minds imagine doing with me! I feel so special!

Or...

Goody! Should I make a schedule for the week in order for the two of you to have some Addie-yum-yum time?

Gosh!

My brain was starting to melt down.

Fuck it!

I was so not prepared for this shit. The weakness in the knees? It's no joke! It's fucking real and if I wasn't in this Salvatore sandwich...coz you know they wanted to eat me, pun intended, I would be passed out on the floor.

Hello…! The part in my mind...filled with...uhm...porn stuff is having a freaking cha-cha party right now.

Do you see my struggles?

Gaah!

Thank the fucking LORD that it was at that exact time, Alaric chose to knock on the door and save me from whatever I could have said.

"Bonnie is here."

And like an animal afraid for it's pathetic little life I almost ran out of the room, catching up to Ric, holding his elbow down the stairs like he would be able to save me from what just happened upstairs.

Not long after we were with the rest of the group, the Salvatore's joined us and I made sure to not look at either of them.

Call me childish.

Whatever.

But I needed some space. Now more than ever. Because this…this was fucking insane!

Insane. Insane. Insane.

Shit.

Ughghh.

For the first time, I was grateful that there so much drama going on around me that I could loose myself in it and push this topic to the back of my mind.

From then on it was sufficed to say that after Bonnie was up to date with what I have told everyone, she did turn on her supernatural senses and confirmed my 'assumptions'.

I played as surprised as I could.

Another surprise was that this time mister I-kill-before-talking aka Damon Salvatore did not try to snap necks and go all growl-look-at-my-long-scary-ooh-so-scary-fangs.

On the contrary, he agreed with the rest that we will try to prevent anything that could trigger the curse and until Tyler was a danger to him or anyone else, he would let the quarterback live.

Just as I was thinking that I could call it a day, Elena and the three who did not come with us on the small road trip had something to tell us. I had almost forgotten about Isobel.

Elena had to one up my revelations about werewolves.

"Isobel...she..." The doppelganger spared a look at Alaric who smiled slowly at her in an encouraging way. Hola! Step daughter-father bonding time! Goody! "When she found out that I was a vampire, she broke down. I...I think she turned her emotions back on, even more when I told her that it was one of her...acquaintances who did it just to enrage her."

"Was she mad?" Jeremy asked. Bonnie, Tyler and I were just listening quietly.

"She was furious. I didn't expect her to react like that. She said that she didn't want me to be like her. That she was here to make sure that I would never turn into a vampire. And now that I am one...the danger around me is even bigger."

"What? Why?" The witch questioned worriedly.

"Katherine." Quipped Damon and this time it was far from sarcastic, he was fuming silently.

"How is she connected to Lena?" Jer didn't understand and Elena tried avoiding mine and his eyes.

"Well apparently it's because of this curse..." Ric started, and then he proceeded retelling about the curse that could be broken and thus free the wolves just like the vampires from the power of the sun and the moon having over them. And what would be needed in order to make the spell.

In other words Isobel spilled all the beans.

Fuck yes.

I would have grinned like an idiot, just imagining how Katherine would react when she would finally realize that we were so far ahead of her!

But I couldn't, everyone was having a hard time processing everything. And I had to pretend to at least be...well, shocked.

"But here is what I don't believe." Said Damon, gaining everyone's attention. "Katherine would never do something like that. She doesn't care about anyone so I don't see why she would help a bunch of furry dogs getting stronger and more lethal than ever."

Ah! Bingo.

"Does it matter?" Asked Jeremy. "Now that Elena is no longer human, the curse can never be broken. She is the last...dopp...doppel..."

"Doppelganger." Our history teacher helped him out.

"But if Isobel is telling the truth, that means the moment Katherine finds out Elena is a vampire, she will be far from happy and I wouldn't put it past her to come and try to kill everyone." Spoke Stefan.

Yep. He is correct.

"That's what Isobel told us as well." Agreed Alaric. I watched closely as guilt begin to show on my other-dimensional sister. She was starting to see the danger here.

"What else did she tell you?" Bonnie asked, looking deep in thought.

"That Katherine will come sooner or later and that there would be hell to pay for ruining her plans." Elena answered. "She said she could help us. That she doesn't care about anything else but my safety."

"And you believe her?" Scoffed Damon, rolling his eyes, succeeding in making her glare at him.

"I am willing to take the risk, Damon. For all I know you would be glad to get rid of me as soon as possible, if she gets out that could be arranged."

"Wait. What are you talking about?" I finally spoke.

"Isobel...she proposed to train me and help me control the vampire part in me." The doppelganger explained tentatively, still avoiding mine and Jeremy's eyes. And she had every right to do it, because Jer looked outraged, like he could not believe she was saying something like that.

This time around I didn't have to fake my shock.

What the fuck..?

"Are you crazy? This woman is insane! For all we know she is shitting us like no one else! She might just wait for you to fall for the act and then bring you straight to this Katherine-bitch!" Shouted the youngest Gilbert. Then he turned his attention towards Alaric, who looked anything but comfortable. "And you? Are you okay with this?"

"She is truly feeling once again, Jeremy." The hunter tried to defend, but the kid didn't let him continue.

"Yeah? And you are willing to bet my sister's life on that?"

And wow.

I had no idea what to do. First of all, nothing like this ever happened in the show. Yes, Isobel cared for Elena, and in her own deranged way she protected her daughter the best she could, then she just disappeared, before being killed by Klaus. Now? Now I knew that she might be sincere about helping Elena, even if she failed keeping her human. But not even for a second did I doubt she would have no problem snapping all of our necks to do it as well.

It was a double edged knife.

We needed her in our advantage to Katherine.

But Isobel was just as deadly as a loose canon.

Fuck.

All I know is that I should keep Elena's new predicament secret from her clone as long as possible. That meant she had to keep a low profile.

"How do we know she won't call Katherine the first chance she gets and tell her what is going on?" Damon asked, body stiffening every time he mentioned the name of the old vampire.

"How about a spell?" Bonnie proposed out of nowhere. All heads snapped in her direction.

"Which is?"

"I can put a spell on Isobel so she would not be able to leave the borders of the boarding house. Like that, even if she does something stupid Damon here could easily end her and she would know it."

"No way!" Stepped it the said vampire. "No way! This is not a freaking hotel, I have had enough with unwanted guests and I am definitely not letting this woman live here...where you know... I fucking sleep!"

I held back a grin.

Rolling her eyes, the witch then proposed another possibility.

"Fine I can spell her in another place, somewhere more secluded."

"What about the house on the lake?" Asked Elena. "It's in Jenna's name so Katherine would not be able to come in and it's far away so no one would find us or see us there."

"Us?" Questioned a surprised Jeremy. The doppelganger nodded.

"I...I want to go with her. I know that what she has done is irreversible, but I do believe she wanted to protect me in her own terrifying way...and like that there will be someone who will keep an eye on her, and I will be far away from Mystic Falls so that even if Katherine shows up, it would take her a long time to figure out what is going on." She paused then, slowly almost afraid of being judged she looked at me, then at her brother and then at Alaric. "And...I would like to get to know her….maybe she is not a lost cause, maybe now that she is finally feeling...I could get to meet the real person who is my biological mother."

Good God, she even made sense.

From the looks of it, Stefan and Damon especially had no real problem letting that happen. It was Stefan though who told her to call him immediately if something occurs.

"What about school?" Asked Bonnie, who like Jeremy was battling with themselves on whether they were okay with letting Elena do something like that.

"It won't be for too long, for the moment the school thinks I am sick...we can say that I am hospitalized in another hospital a few towns over and I need to go through some kind of surgery so that would buy me two weeks or something." Shrugged the brunet.

Wow once again she had a great idea.

That's when I saw Jeremy looking at me, like he was expecting me to say if I agreed or not, like what came out of my mouth would be the deciding vote.

Shit.

When did that happen?

"We will take turns, after school at least one or two of us will come and see what is going on. I somehow believe that this woman will not hurt you, Elena, but I am sure that she would have no problem draining the rest of us if it was convenient for her. So your stay there...shouldn't be...so problematic. And Isobel being locked inside would give us some sense of control and assurance she would not harm anyone." Both brothers observed me.

I ignored them.

"What do you think, Jer?" Asked Elena. Looking for his approval as well.

"I don't like it. But if you trust her not to harm you, then I will have to deal." Her brother answered.

The rest were soon on board with it too.

Tomorrow was Monday and while Alaric, Stefan and Elena went to the hospital to arrange the papers for her future absence, Bonnie, Damon and a passed out Isobel went to the said house on the lake and prepare the spell.

Of course, not before the four vampires were invited inside by Jenna through the phone.

Jenna...that was a whole other problem brewing. We had to talk with her, tell her what was going on and had to convince her to accept the fact that the ex-wife/vampire of Alaric was going to live in the family house with her niece.

For a while.

Yeah...it took us some time.

But when Ric finally stepped in and talked to her alone, Jenna finally reluctantly came on board with this bizarre development.

One of the conditions being…

"Tonight all of the family is spending the night here at home. I don't care how many problems we are in the middle of. We are going to have a family dinner and a movie night!"

Oh well...it could have been worse.

Some loose ends would need to be tied up later, though.

Like Tyler and the new revelations he was forced to accept.

We were also busy making sure that Caroline did not get wind of where exactly Elena was. She will believe the official story but it would be hard keeping her away from visiting the other girl.

Oh...and a whole bunch of other stuff.

* * *

This same night the whole entire Gilbert family...and me, sat in the dining room.

It was quiet. No one knew what to say or how to disperse the tension going on. After Jenna found out about every additional danger lurking just around the corner, the woman was still coping with it. Like the freaking normal person she is, she was the only one to have the decency to react accordingly. Everyone else was so fucking accepting and just moving on with how to deal with the problems, that they did not even for a second stop and ask themselves why they had to go through it.

Seriously, it was like they were just cool with whatever shit was about to hit the fan. This calmness was unbecoming.

But then I couldn't just expect them all to be the hysterical bunch we all knew from the series. There ...when something new came around it was like an electric shock that struck with full force. A lot of deaths, a lot of secrets and lies.

Now I was the only liar around. For the rest of the merry group, everyone found out about everything at the same time. Like that there was no great vulnerability and the dangers surrounding those not informed. For some reason, this whole group was so much more versed on sharing what they knew, that one would say they had been dealing with this supernatural crap for years.

In normal circumstances for them to reach this level of communication they would need to make mistakes, to learn from them and then make more mistakes.

Well...not this time.

I did not let that happen and if I thought more about it, this change could be because of me. Maybe because of my constant preaching and speeches, those idiots were starting to understand how to do things in the damn correct fucking way.

Sure, my involvement brought a lot of changes. And there will come a moment where I will have no idea what will happen. But that's why I was preparing everyone around me. In other words I was preparing them for the day when they would not react to the dangerous secrets so easily, where they will be against enemies they could not defeat if not working together. To a day when at least to some extent they would trust each other.

Trust.

That would be my biggest challenge.

For the moment I was content with all of them trusting me. Me. But that would not be enough in the future. No. They had to learn to trust each other...to trust themselves.

And that would be one hell of a hard nut to crack.

But this same trust came in the hand of challenges. So till everyone was pushed towards the brink of insanity, they could not form this bond we saw just a fraction of in the show. And I wanted so much more than just a fraction. I wanted the whole thing, so even when I could not meddle in, even when I was not here, they would not make the same mistakes they did in the series.

I was slowly working on all of that.

Jenna was becoming the best guardian the Gilbert's will ever need. With her presence and acceptance, she was giving the good advices any teen had to receive in order to not lose his shit.

Jeremy has long ago abandoned the drugs and the self destruction. He was gaining friends and was a supportive brother for Elena. His curiosity made him the best asset when it came to dealing with humans. The way he handled Tyler's true nature astonished me. He wasn't afraid, he wasn't looking at the other boy like a freak, he was strong enough to be there. To listen.

Elena was never a good vampire. She was too ...good to be one. But her becoming an immortal would save a lot of people. No one would have to sacrifice themselves in order to save her. Today she showed me a side of her I never imagined seeing. She was strong, she was protective and ready to go against creatures more powerful than her, to keep me safe. She didn't need two men to revolve around her. She was no longer the damsel in distress. With time she would learn to not be afraid of the monster inside of her. Because even if she didn't see it now, vampirism didn't make you evil. Everyone had a dose of evilness in them. You just need to learn to accept it like it is a part of yourself.

Alaric was still a work in progress. Yes, I was insistent enough, he would call me annoyingly meddlesome, to make sure he ate correctly. I was presenting myself as another friend he could confide in. He and Damon might not be so close at the moment, but he needed more people around himself. And when the raven haired vampire would be the devil on his right shoulder, I would be the angel on his left one. Ric just needed to find the balance. Or he would end up brooding so much, that he would make the old Stefan feel ashamed.

Tyler was another thing. His journey just began. He has yet to dive into this madness. But the difference from last time is that he is prepared, he isn't alone and if my gut is correct, Jeremy would be just as supportive as I will be. No matter what happens later.

I still was hesitant about Caroline. She….she was so happy now. Going out with Matt. Talking more with her mum, after I made her give her a chance to repair their fallout. She...did she need to be a vampire to grow as a person? My answer would be yes. But then I would do whatever I could to prevent it and not force it upon her. If there would come a time when she had no other choice or was forced into it, then she would thrive so much that she would outshine everyone else. And…let's be honest, I did like her a lot with Klaus as company.

Bonnie, Bonnie, Bonnie. For the past few weeks, while Elena was coping with being a vampire and everything else, we became close, more so than before. The witch was getting stronger with the guidance she got from her grams and the lack of her close ones dying. I sometimes could feel it around her. The way the power oozed from her. Everyone else did too and I was fucking glad that she didn't fall into in the hands of dark magic, nor hated Damon with everything she had. Yes, they did still spar with one another, throwing insults and sarcastic shit at each other. But there was no real hatred. Which it will serve as a great asset in the future. And let's not forget that the boy-toy she was still keeping around made her happy. But if I had any say in the matter, the Bennett would end up with someone more powerful, more understanding, who would make her train her magic beyond perfection. Who would challenge her?

The Salvatore's on the other hand, in my opinion, had the biggest growth compared to the rest. After forgiving each other and starting anew, I saw moments where they would act like they did when still human. It will take a lot more to see them completely okay, but it was a start. The harmony and the silent communications, the meaningful looks and the time spent bonding without even knowing it, was the right path towards the redemption they needed. It was fascinating to see some of the traits they got from the other. Like how more relaxed and opened Stefan was, how sarcastic and even just a tad bit more sinful he had become. Maybe it was all Damon's influence, or maybe it was the fact that he had accepted the Ripper and in return he got all the perks of that side of his. Without the killing sprees. And let's not kid ourselves. The Ripper in the show was the best fucking version of Stefan. He was an asshole. He cared more about himself. And that was good, he needed to not be the altruistic man we all knew. He had to live for himself and get over the guilt that weighed him down. He was getting there.

His brother on the other hand, was still the same. For the most part, he was still impulsive, he was still passionate and unpredictable. He still made me want to whack him in the head with something heavy for opening his mouth. But the difference was that he saw the people around him. Damon saw them and contrary to the last time where he would have not given a damn about them, blinded by Elena and only Elena, now, he listened. He actually listened and accepted other opinions that were not his. And I was fucking grateful.

All in all, if I could sum it up in one sentence. Those around me were ready to face the music, they were more or less prepared for the great shit that was about to happen with the arrival of Katherine dearest and the Originals.

All of a sudden, a movement caught my attention. Jeremy who was sitting next to me, opposite of Jenna and Elena, moved his fork towards my dinner. The bastard wanted to steal my food!

"Back off! I'm starving!" Maybe it was the outraged face I made, or the way I shouted it but soon enough the rest of the family started laughing.

And there you go.

The tension was gone.

That night I laid in my own bed. In my own room. The photos on the wall across from me brought me a sense of welcoming. It hasn't been so long since I last slept in my bedroom. But it still felt nice. Even if I was alone. For some reason I expected more, though.

Like, something was missing.

It didn't take me too long to notice what it was.

Somehow in the past week, I had become used to not sleeping alone. I had become accustomed to the bodies consuming me in a secured safe heaven. I was starting to forget that when I slept alone, I had some of the worst nightmares.

Letting out a long sigh, I got up and tiptoed out of my room. I heard talking from Jeremy's so without much thinking I knocked and walked in. There Elena was sitting on the bed with her brother, smiling a bit, while Jeremy was looking out of the window, talking on the phone … with Tyler. I send her a questioning look and the doppelganger only shrugged but for some reason she had this mischievous smirk on her face. Was I missing something?

Silently taking my place next to her, the new vampire grabbed my hand and we talked quietly about what she was expecting from the upcoming week. We spoke about Isobel and Alaric, about the curse and Katherine. And the brunet once again displayed a mature character, strength. She expressed her thoughts, her fears and I in return told her that everything will be okay.

I don't know when Jeremy joined us on the bed. But it was hours later when we fell asleep.

On top of the sheets.

In awkward and not so comfortable positions.

Close to each other.

Together.

And I didn't have any nightmares this night either.

* * *

 **Author's note:**

 **Hi, everyone! I know, I know! It has been a whole freaking month from my last update. First I had to go to Israel for a week, then to Austria for another one. Before I could blink it was Christmas, the whole family was together and I had no, and I mean it, no free time to sit on my butt and write anything. Trust me, when it's a total chaos around you and you are surrounded by numerous uncles, aunts, grandparents and kids, your brain has no capability to function like it is supposed to. So updating till they were gone was out of question.**

 **Then I had to return back on campus and another week went by before I knew it.**

 **But no more of those excuses. I am back and the frequent updates will return as well. Ahha! (Keep in mind I'm in the middle of an** **exam session.** **)**

 **Love,**

 **Felly ^^**


	14. Chapter 14

Disclaimer

I do not own Vampire Diaries. The O.C. is my only original character.

This story will follow the series to some extend, there will be a lot of changes and you will find a partial O.O.C. here.

It will be rated **[M]** for future chapters and yes it will be a **Menage love story/P** **olygamous relationship** , if you don't like please don't read.

I welcome constructive criticism and if you would like to help me with that, please write me a P.M.

Big thanks to my Beta - Cici ( _DontMessWithUndertaker)_ for correcting this chapter! ^w^

 **[!]** Comments. Follows. Any kind of support is highly appreciated. No kidding, it does give the motivation to update faster!

* * *

Chapter 14

Waking up I felt surrounded by something warm. Slowly opening my eyes, I found myself in the middle of a Gilbert sandwich. Blinking once...then twice, I realized that I had slept in Jeremy's bedroom and on my right the kid was tucked against my side. His hair was disheveled, drool running down his face and body latching onto mine. It was cute...for few seconds. Then I realized that the punk was drooling on my shoulder.

Holding back a groan, I tried to pull away but his hands were holding my right one and he even had the decency to push himself even closer. There was a small noise coming from my other side and when I looked, I saw Elena in all her messy haired glory, sleepily placing her legs over mine, thus effectively making it impossible to move.

Rolling my eyes I noticed the doppelganger hugging a pillow that separated us from one another. But what lacked in upper body contact was achieved in another way. I was seriously considering her dreaming about a ring fight or something, because her legs were holding mine in a threatening position, way too easily. Once more I tried to move away from the two, but the moment I did, the annoying siblings just tightened their muscles around me.

Like octopuses.

And it was too damn hot in here, so the brats breathing in my face were not helping the feeling of claustrophobia.

Okay, so I exaggerated a little. But sue me, I wanted to go to the bathroom.

As I was preparing myself to start shouting...kicking...or anything really to get them off, the door slowly creaked open. There I saw Jenna peaking in cautiously. She had the nerve to grin when she saw my predicament and as I was about to scream for help the Gilbert's aunt pulled out her phone and...and she took pictures.

Is she for real? Can't she see my terrified slash annoyed expression?

Oh wait...she does, that's why she is taking pictures. Because she finds it funny.

Huh.

Sure. Funny.

Tche.

The clicking sounds coming from her device succeeded in waking up the older sibling. Elena started to stir, groaning, popping her muscles, rubbing her eyes. When she finally realized where she was and to what she had been latching on, I expected her to pull away. But nahh...why would she do that when she could just grin like a loon and rub herself closer!

She knew very well I didn't appreciate it!

Throwing a glance at her aunt, I saw her waving her arm and mouthing something that suspiciously looked like...'family bonding', before she closed the door and left me alone with those leeches…

The nerve.

"Morning." Elena slowly croaked, stupid grin still in place. She was now looking from to her younger brother and then back to me.

"Can you let me go?" I asked annoyed. But instead of getting what I wanted, the doppelganger only shook her head and stuck out her tongue.

"Why? So you could escape?" She asked, closing her eyes. "It's been a while since the three of us have spent any time together. You know? Without all the drama and ..." Pausing for a moment, then peeking at me for another one and averting her orbs hesitantly away… "Without the Salvatore's." Was there... bitterness in her tone or was I just imagining it?

"What do you mean?" I questioned.

"What Lena is trying to say is that you have been avoiding us as much as possible since the beginning of the school year." Groaned Jeremy, now fully awake, staring at me and just like his sister not letting go of his hold. "What she means is that you have been spending too much time with those brothers." Did he just...did he just sound jealous?

What the fuck?

Maybe they saw how lost I looked at them and they spared me any further explaining the shit they were talking about.

"Maybe she doesn't see it, Jer." Elena spoke, now looking at her brother.

"Yeah? Well I see it and I don't like it." He fired back, rolling his eyes too.

"Well she is Adelle, she sees everything except what is directed at her."

I groaned.

Uhm...Hello! I am right here! Why do you speak like I am not in the fucking room?

"I am right next to you guys!" I almost shouted and I would have flapped my hands in exasperation if the two weren't holding them...like they both hugged me and kept me captured.

"So you like at least one of them?" Asked Jeremy.

"What?"

"Look..." The brat started. "I don't want to talk about it just as much as you are pretending that it does not exist. But Adelle, don't you see the way Stefan and Damon look at you?"

I was shocked into stillness.

Averting my eyes so I wasn't looking at either of them, I stared at the ceiling.

Was it so obvious?

"We never talked about it, Addie, but Jeremy is right, we both noticed that the...relationship you have with Damon and Stefan is different then the one we share with them." Elena tried to mellow down the panic I was starting to feel.

"In other words, neither of them have any interest in anything but you." Quipped Jeremy, ignoring the warning glare from his sister. "Oh, stop it, Lena! She has to know. Do you think I want to talk about it? With you two? I am not a freaking girl but this has to be discussed, because I will be damned if I let the elephant stay unannounced in here. And it would be just stupid if I don't ask my own sister if she is seeing the way those two want to...want to...ugh ...you know..." He made a face. "They can't stop touching her, Elena! Damon is always acting like he is barely controlling himself from jumping her, while Stefan has the nerve to glare at anyone that lays a finger on her if it is not him or his damned brother!"

Now he had gone up in a sitting position, glaring down at the two of us and soon Elena followed him, leaving me as the only one laying down on the bed while they stared at me, expecting some kind of reaction.

"What is going on, Ad?" The doppelganger whispered, sounding confused and even a bit worried.

"Okay." I said. "Fine!" Now I was looking at them square in the eyes. "What do you want me to say?" I was still not sitting up. Even if it felt like they were overpowering me in this position, I still had no energy to move, as I felt defeated for some reason.

"Tell us that it is one sided, Addie." Started Jeremy, ignoring the glare coming from his sister. "Tell me, that you don't feel anything for either of them, that you are just as clueless as you act."

There was a silent pause where no one said anything.

"I can't do that." Was my only response, which made Jeremy fly out of the bed, completely letting me go and starting to pacing around the room.

In this moment Jeremy Gilbert looked way older then he actually was. Older then me, wearing this slightly annoyed expression that was mixed with a big dose of concern.

For some reason the kid took the role of protective brother, making me feel lost as to what I should do with this whole situation.

Elena on the other hand was staring at me, wonder in her brown eyes. Like she was just realizing something.

Do you see why I had been avoiding too much alone time with them? Because of this. I knew that what was going on between me and the Salvatore's wasn't completely hidden. The vampires didn't try holding anything back. It was like they did not care who would see, who would realize. So yes, I was trying my best to avoid this exact confrontation, as I had no way of explaining or desire to delve into the real meanings of the …. relationship I had with Damon and Stefan.

The silent question hung over our heads.

Did I felt the same? For both of them?

And maybe the answer was clear for them, more then it was for me as Jeremy shook his head, holding his hair and signing kind of desperately. Elena tightened her hold on my hand.

"You are the smartest person I know, Addie." The brown haired girl said slowly, "You always have a plan, you are always a step ahead of everyone. You like to predict, to control … so to let this thing to keep on...developing..." She paused, sharing a glace with her brother. "Growing. Then you must know what you are doing."

I slowly shrugged, but when I saw the unsatisfied face of Jeremy, I slowly nodded as well.

Because fuck it, but I did not want to have this conversation with anyone.

"Just..." Loudly groaned the brat. "Just keep John with you all the time." aka my taser. "So if you feel … God I can't even...if you feel pressured by one of them...or uncomfortable somehow, don't be afraid to use it."

All I was able to do was once again nod dumbly.

They both relaxed after that.

Did I…did I just get the...talk… from my two not-so-much-but-very-much-so-in-this-universe siblings?

The hell?

Awkward. After that awkwardly embarrassing moment for the three of us, the conversation was over and thank God to that. We all scattered out of the room.

Jenna's siblings/family bonding time was over.

Half an hour later we were all downstairs, where the half of the family was going to be late for school, while the other half was preparing to go to the Gilbert's lake house. Funny thing I forgot to mention was Alaric sitting in the kitchen when I went there. Holding Beluga on his lap, who by the way had become bigger and fluffier, the hunter was drinking coffee. Jenna was upstairs helping Elena pack, while Jeremy was who knows where. At my questioning look, my teacher spoke first.

"You...didn't show up this morning..." There was a slight, embarrassed hesitation in his voice and I could barely contain the shit eating grin that wanted to split my face in two. "So I thought something might have happened." Averting his eyes down to the dog, who was happily being scratched...the little fucker, Ric then looked back at me, not hiding anymore that he was indeed worried for my well being. Thus making my insides explode with warmness, the same I felt every time my father showed his protectiveness over his little girl. Aka – Me. "I came to check up on you and Jenna told me that..."

"I was trapped in a Gilbert sandwich?" I asked smiling cheekily, not hiding how pleased I was to finally see the results of my non stop nagging over this man. He had allowed himself to admit he cared for me and considered me close.

Fuck yeah!

Eat that, Damon! I just stole your future BFF! Muaahh!

"Something like that." The hunter smiled in return. I only shrugged at his amusement.

"What can I say? People love me." At his scoff I came closer to him, extending my hand to pat my dog too. The Samoyed barked happily at the attention, wiggling his tail excitedly.

"Still the shy girl, I see." Was his response to which I only winked.

Because, duuh! Wasn't it obvious?

"Have you eaten?" I asked, stepping around him, going to the fridge. "Of course you haven't what stupid question am I asking?" I waved him off, responding before he could lie to me, which got me a glare in return.

Ignoring it I started to prepare breakfast for everyone, as it appeared I was the only person in the household to even attempt making some home cooked meal. Like seriously, those people ate too much take out food here.

Lazy fuckers.

While cutting some vegetables, Alaric told me the progress they made with Isobel. Like her being spelled to not leave the lake house, her turning her emotions back on and actually explaining to him why she faked her death and why she left him. I already knew all that from the show, but I still listened carefully as my teacher slash father figure talked in a content tone of the way his ex wife finally freed him from the guilt and hate he held inside of himself.

I noticed this change in Elena too last night.

Now that Isobel didn't act like a complete rabid animal, the doppelganger could actually repair her relationship with her biological mother. With her help the gang was no longer in complete darkness of what was going on, and this made it possible for Ric to move forward as well.

This whole situation was playing out way better than I first planned for. And the moment itself that I was finding myself in right now, made me smile fully. Because Alaric was actually letting me in, was opening up to me and was telling me about what was going on. I have somehow succeeded in gaining his trust and this knowledge made me way too giddy inside.

Jeremy joined us soon as well, joining in on the discussion, adding his opinion here and there and playing with Beluga who was now on his lap, after being begrudgingly let go by Ric.

All the three males in the room, looked at me like hawks as I prepared food, like a starving animals….or puppies, waiting to be fed. It would have been funny if I didn't feel so exasperated because of their lack of basic abilities to cook.

Whatever.

"Is Jenna going to drive Elena to the lake cabin?" Alaric asked. Jeremy nodded.

"She wants to meet Isobel..." The kid started but was interrupted by his aunt who entered the kitchen, followed by Elena and a duffel bag.

"I want to have a little chit chat with this woman, before I leave my niece to spend a week or something with her. So be a dear Ric and give me the weapon I asked for last night."

Ohh!

Bad ass Jenna! Hello, there!

I grinned, while Jer looked surprised and Elena shrugged a little at the sassy aunt.

If I could, I would have been present for this 'talk', but alas. Me, the brat and the hunter had school. So boo! We would miss some of the fun action.

But I had no choice, or I would be castrated….by Caroline, who has been in bitch mode for a few days, preparing for the parade that was in two days.

Which parade? Oh you know! The one where in the show John went bomb-killing-machine on the vampires in town, Katherine showed up, Damon almost burned to death and, well...shit went down hill from there.

Yep, this one.

So do you see my excitement?

No?

Well you should! Because even if things do not go the way they did last time, this day- this episode was the turning point for every character in the series. For fuck sake, Caroline turned into a vampire then. So something was bound to happen, good or bad.

I hated the unknown! I was that person who skipped parts of the movie just so I could see what was going on, I just liked knowing things!

Sue me.

So after breakfast Elena and Jenna left, but not before promising to keep us updated non stop and some whining from Jeremy who still found the idea stupid.

Alaric was the next to go, as he had to be a bit early for a teachers meeting.

Then it was just me and the brat of a brother.

"Do you think Tyler confronted his father about ...you know, being a werewolf?" He asked me, while watching me wash the dishes.

The nerve. Hello! I would never decline some help here.

Tche.

Whatever.

"I don't know." Was my honest reply. "If I was in his place, I would first search the house and find some answers on my own and then I would confront him." I shrugged. At least I do hope he would do that, cause the Mayor would have too many questions as from where Ty found out about it, and I did not want a council member sniffing around.

I like the town's 'secret' council the way it was. Clueless. Thank you very much.

"Should I ask him?" questioned me once again the kid.

"Well, today everyone would be buzzing with preparation for the parade, so you could easily sneak around and do that." I shrugged.

His only response was a nod.

* * *

The moment I was in school I was astonished by the chaos surrounding me. People were walking around carrying decorations, glitter was in the air and I was shocked that something like this was happening before my eyes. In the series, the parade was done when they showed it in the last episode so no one knew the process of how it got done.

Well.

Now I knew.

Hell. Was every event so...mad? What the...now I knew why the old Adelle didn't want anything to do with this. I was happy that till now I had been excluded from this shiny, colorful, devilish lair, as Care was well aware I didn't want anything to do with it. My luck was just coming short this time around, because as Elena was absent from the action, I had no chance but to agree to the scary nagging of the head cheerleader and join the preparation.

How did Caroline manage all of this? Every time. Every celebration, it was like that!

No one gave her enough credit for the monstrosity she managed to keep in line and transform into one of the most memorable events in the show.

Jeremy was still next to me, probably used to this by now, looking around and dodging students left and right. There was amusement in his eyes, barely holding back a chuckle at seeing my pale face.

Brat.

As I was about to ask how the school agreed to stop the education process in order for everyone to take part in making this parade ready in two days, I was distracted by two people bouncing in our direction.

"Addie! Finally! I thought you bailed on me!" My blond friend screeched, grinning and glaring at the same time, making me want to smile and to shrink back all at once. Only she could provoke this kind of reaction. Seriously.

Once again I was about to open my mouth, when the witch who stood next to her waved at us.

"I don't have time right now, some idiot got the wrong paint! I have to go and replace it, like can anyone function without me babying them every single...Hey! You! Where are you going with those banners?" Her blabbering turned into a shout ...before running after some poor soul that made the mistake of angering her. I had no time to react when she briskly turned around and ordered, "Bonnie, tell her what she needs to do! And don't slack off! We don't have time!"

Without waiting for a reply, she was already gone in the sea of students. You could only hear her voice as she gave orders, commanding everyone, like the queen Klaus saw her as in the future.

Now I understood his point. The Hybrid had seen her potential as a future dictator that just needed a little push and with her ambition, immortality and perfectionism...man this world would never know what hit it.

Shuddering for a moment I tried for a third time to say something, but it was just not my day as I was once again interrupted by the Bennett witch who looked way too amused.

Like, hello? Can't she see the same thing I was witnessing?

"Wait just a bit, you will get used to the noise and the bodies trying to push you out of their way." I heard a chuckle and snapped my head towards the Gilbert kid, who had satisfaction written all over his face.

"It was about time for you to join this torture." Was his reply and so help me God if I didn't want to snap his neck right about now.

Even after I gave him the ring from John, and he wore it none stop, the brat should not tempt me with murder. If he only knew what I was doing in my 'free' time…

Punk…

"Go to the gym, Jer, they are painting the banners there and they will need another hand." Bonnie said lightly.

Yep, Jeremy could draw, and maybe that's why he was always roped into participating in those things. Poor boy….naah.

"Addie, you go to our English room. The paper garlands can't make themselves out of nothing." then she decided to add a chop-chop notion with her hands and I was dismissed like a mere servant.

Shuddering once again, I just decided to silently retreat, because my two friends were scaring the shit out of me today. So because I wanted to keep on living, I followed the instructions and went towards the said class room. When I opened it, it was empty.

Was I the only one who would be doing this? How unfair was that! In the center I saw a pile of paper triangles and other shapes, next to them thin ropes and I knew I would loose hours here, stringing paper to paper. Groaning in desperation I made my way, dragging my feet and probably sporting the face of a petulant child as I sat on the teachers desk and willed myself to start working.

At least I was away from the madness in the halls.

The door then snapped open.

Looking up I was met with Stefan, who was leaning on the frame, smiling amusedly at me. My stomach contracted and my nerves for some reason bubbled a little. What was he doing here, wearing his cool jacket, cool jeans, cool shirt...cool everything? The image of perfection without even trying. And here I was, hair in a messy bun, no make up on, nails chipped with old nail polish, completely forgetting my camera at home.

Feeling naked while he gazed at me.

Did he see how ridged I was?

Please, say nothing, just...ignore me or...ignore talking about anything that happened yesterday..

The vampire took a step towards me. Before I could stop myself I took a deep breath.

Get it together, Addie! This is just Stefan...Salvatore, vampire, ex Ripper, hero hair, body of a God, voice of poet, tortured soul that still somehow found me good enough to share his secrets with me. To trust me. To smile the way he is right now.

Shrinking a bit, I palmed the paper in my hands, fingers fidgeting, wanting to touch, to thread them through his honey hair.

"Hi." Was the only thing I could say, as the silence was killing me. Slowly. Was I the only one imagining this tension?

"I heard you needed help here, so I volunteered." Spoke the vampire, and I nodded dumbly. His green eyes swept over me, then they traveled around the room, stopping on the pile in front of me and then returning on me. "Caroline has outdone herself."

I laughed. That was the understatement of the year, and I was about to tell him just that, when I saw him grinning at me. Orbs sparkling. He was so relaxed, at such ease while he kept looking at me, coming closer and closer.

Finally when he was next to me, my throat became dry. And almost in slow motion, he bend down, eyes staring at me, kissing my forehead. The peck he gave me was so innocent, so little and...and… I am loosing my mind. Looking up at his towering body, I didn't realized I had closed my lids, savoring the gesture. Stefan realized what I did and the smile he gave me melted my insides just a tad bit more. A husky chuckle escaped his lips, as he once again kissed that same exact spot.

"I'm happy to see that I am not the only one enjoying this." Stefan whispered, not leaving the space he had placed himself in, caging me on the desk. His right hand came over mine, stopping my trembling fingers from further destroying the paper in them.

All I could do was stare at him, hardly blinking.

I don't know what came over me, but I just felt like it wasn't fair. It wasn't fair that this vampire had such control over me, that he could get such reaction out of me and still be so composed. Yeah, his green eyes had darkened considerably the moment he stepped so close to me, his breathing was slightly uncontrolled, but compered to me…

Before he could back away, I lifted my free hand and placed it on his neck. The action surprised him a little but it only lasted for a moment before Stefan leaned into my touch, not for a second looking away from me.

I nodded. Maybe to encourage myself, or to confirm what he had just said, I came closer to him. My nose was only an inch from touching his. Unconsciously I licked my lips, effectively capturing his attention, as his eyes followed the motion. Taking advantage of his slight distraction I shortened the distance, not missing the way his breath hitched to a halt, moving the last second, kissing him gently on the corner of his mouth.

The vampire in my hands staggered, both hands now holding my mid section in a way that either kept me in place or to keep himself in check.

"Adelle..." I don't know what he was going to say, because I was lost in my own world right now. Not wanting to stop, loving the way I forced such a reaction from the normally composed ex Ripper, I pushed down the uncontrollable flipping in my stomach and placed a second kiss under his right eye.

I had succeeded in silencing his words.

Mesmerized by the way his lids fluttered, I then kissed the same spot for a second time, I was completely astonished by the power I felt bubbling in me. The knowledge of being able to affect Stefan Salvatore the way I was doing right now, was greater then anything I have ever experienced.

I remembered last night, as Damon did the same exact thing I was doing to his brother right now. As I continued on placing small brief kisses over his beautiful face. Was this why Damon did it to me? Did he feel the same euphoria I did?

It was just … just…

My fingers were on his neck, caressing the skin there, his hands were gripping my waist like a lifeline, and I knew that this was the only way he could keep the control he was displaying by letting me do what I wanted. As I explored his cheekbones, his jaw line with my lips, I felt no shame. I felt grateful that the vampire allowed me such intimacy as I was starting to realized why he and his brother did the same thing to me.

I finally realized why those two took every opportunity to touch me, to place hands on my skin or to kiss some part of me. I realized why they always loved rendering me completely at their mercy as one or both of them stepped past my comfort zone, pushed my boundaries and initiated this kind of contact.

I finally knew.

And it was making me high.

The way I made Stefan loose his control. The way I made him breath unevenly. How his eyes became jet black, screaming want and desire. The way he leaned into my touch. Relaxing and feeling my every caress. How when I could finally hear, his voice was saying my name over and over, like a prayer, like an invitation. Like it was the only thing keeping him from snapping and capturing my lips with his. Like he was grateful, like he was thanking me for granting him such gentleness, attention and appreciation.

Like he wasn't the strong supernatural that could lift me from the desk push away anything from the wooden surface and lay me there in a matter of seconds. Crawling on top of me, tearing away my clothes and finishing what I have started. What he and Damon started last night. What has been stirring since the day I died and came back to life.

This image in my head, forced a low moan to escape my lips and fucking hell...what was I thinking?

Shocked into a stupor, stilling completely along with the vampire in front of me, my mind was beginning to function once again.

Oh my...fuck...fuck…

I was too embarrassed to even look at Stefan. He heard me, he had heard...and I...was acting like a complete teenager. Like I didn't know better, like I haven't decided just yesterday that I could not do this with him or Damon, that I could never hurt them like that.

I couldn't be the next Katherine.

I couldn't expect them to be fine with me liking both of them.

And I could never expect them to return my feelings...when I was keeping so many secrets from them.

Before I could back off completely, I decided that Stefan at least deserved one truthfulness from me.

"No Stefan, you are not the only one that enjoys this." I whispered, finally having the courage to look up at him.

What I was met with, surprised me.

Dark veins had resurfaced underneath his completely red eyes, fangs peaking from his mouth. And the way he stared at me, the way he was trying to calm down his harsh breathing...my God...

I pursed my lips, willing myself to stop the fluttering of my heart. Did I do that? Did I make him turn?

"Let's..." Stefan whispered, then he paused clearing his throat, closing his eyes for a second, transforming back to normal. "Let's get started on the decoration...or Caroline won't be too happy." the vampire finished and I was only able to nod, forcing the hand on his neck to let go.

"Yeah...yeah...let's do that..." I dumbly replied.

The Salvatore just stared at me, nodding, but not moving at all, arms still holding my waist, face still close to mine.

I bit my lower lip. Fuck, he was handsome.

"Yeah..." I said.

"Okay." He continued.

My mouth twitched. His did the same. Slowly I couldn't hold the bubble of laughter that escaped me by the sheer unbelievable situation I was in the middle of. Stefan shook his head in return, probably getting why I was reacting like that, amusement dancing across his eyes. We both forgot the tension, the awkwardness...he chuckled, rolling his eyes and finally taking a small step back.

That's when the door snapped open and in came Caroline, holding few folders, a phone and two minions behind her who were balancing paint cans. The head blond stared at us, eyes narrowing suspiciously and something gleamed in them, she sent me a look that I did not wish to decipher. That looked like a promise that I would not escape whatever inquisition she had planned for me.

"Oops…did we..." Her smirk fell down quickly though, and I cringed by her outraged expression, no longer amused and rather pissed off. "What the hell! I send you guys here to do work! Why is nothing ready? Those garlands won't create themselves!" Care glared and I shrunk back a bit, scared shitless by the devil cheerleader.

"We were just about to start, Caroline.." Stefan tried to defend us, but was waved of like a slave from the Miss Mystic Falls, who could care less about our excuses.

"Like I care, just get to work! We don't have much time, the parade is in two days! God! Am I the only one that realizes how important this event is?" she asked one of the girls behind her, who jumped in surprise and nodded vigorously.

I held back a snort.

But then she pointed a finger at me and I shut my mouth. Just trust me, when it came to celebrations and organizations it would be in your favor to do whatever this blond tells you to, if you care about your life that is…

"I will be back in two hours, if those garlands are not ready, help me God I will end you both!"

Then she turned around and sashayed like a real queen would out of the classroom, followed by two scrambling girls.

How could you not love her? This Caroline Forbes, this confident, bossy and full of sass future vampire, was my favorite person in here. She reminded me of my own big sister with her scary tendencies and knack for making people do whatever she told them...including vampires. And...future Hybrids…

Speaking of vampires, I tore my eyes away from the closed door and looked at Stefan, who looked partly confused and partly stunned.

"And here I thought people were kidding when they told me that I should not get on Caroline's bad side..." He said tuning back to me, face screaming astonishment like he couldn't comprehend that he got served by a mere teenager.

All I could do was shrug.

"You heard her, we better get to work." I smiled a little as he nodded and took a seat right next to me, not leaving any space between us, so that now my left side was flush against his right.

Not minding the closeness, as I got used to it over the past week or something where I spend most of my time in the boarding house with two vampire brothers who had no problem stepping into my personal space. I took a few of the paper triangles and a long rope, starting to string them to it.

Stefan followed my lead.

I don't know how much time passed with us working in a comfortable silence, the only noise being the chaos going on from the other side of the door.

"Where is Damon?" I asked, sneaking a glance at the younger Salvatore. His movements halted for a split second before he resumed his actions, eyes solely on the paper decoration he was holding.

"He doesn't exactly trust easily, so he left town to check on some 'old friends' as he called them, to see if what Isobel told us was really true." he responded after a brief pause.

"Do you believe her?" I was curious. Because while, yes, she was not lying, I was the only one that knew it for sure and I could not really tell them to just follow her words blindly. Not with both brothers having a past filled with lies and betrayals.

"I hope she is not telling us the truth, because it can never lead to anything good, but I do not think she was lying." I nodded. "I see that in her own way she was protecting Elena, and I am sure that your sister is not in danger with her at the lake house. But for the rest...I called Lexi." That surprised me, as I had almost forgotten about her. She was an old vampire, she would know about the curse...or the rumors, or even know somebody who will have information. Last time she was killed and her knowledge died with her...but not this time. "She said she would check on some of her connections and will call me back, but she had heard people talking about it, so..."

"The curse might be real and Katherine will be far from happy to hear that now Elena is no longer a human...this ritual will not be possible." I finished for him, realizing why Stefan wasn't looking at me...till now.

The vampire had stopped whatever he was doing, eyes staring into mine, searching for something.

"You don't look afraid." It wasn't a question, he stated the obvious.

"Well..." Before I could finish, the younger Salvatore interrupted me.

"You don't know her, Addie, you don't know what Katherine is capable of. She is...she doesn't care about anyone but herself. If we are right, she would come here and she would seek revenge. For whatever reason, her interest was piqued by this curse. She would make us pay for stopping her." The seriousness in his voice made me unable to look away.

"Stefan..." He shook his head.

"No you don't understand. For all we know Katherine already knows, she might have someone watching us...she...she might already know about you, Adelle. About you and me...about you and Damon." My breath hitched. "She could hurt you, Addie. She could hurt you, your family, your friends and she would not even blink before doing it." His tone got low, husky, betraying his worry.

"Where is Damon, Stefan?" I asked, panic rising in my throat. When the vampire didn't answer immediately I took his hand, shaking it a little. "Stefan, what is going on?"

Finally he spoke, stillness in his green eyes.

"As long as one of us is with you, she can't touch you, but it's not enough. Katherine is always unpredictable, so we can't wait for her to strike first." What is he telling me... "When you left last night, Damon and I agreed that we had to stop her, before she came to Mystic Falls. Damon had been trying to track her down, he's been out all night and when he returns, I will try as well, while he is near, making sure nothing happens to you."

I started to shake my head.

"Adelle..."

"No! No. I don't want your protection. I don't want you going after her, when we both know she is older and stronger than you." His eyes narrowed.

"It's not up to you to decide..." I interrupted him.

"Yes it is, you are doing it for what? To protect me? I am not the only one in danger, Stefan, everyone here is. Elena, Bonnie, Jeremy, Ric, Jenna, Tyler, you and Damon as well. Separating, going on a goose chase without telling anyone, planning something behind the backs of the rest..." I shook my head. Unbelievable.

"Then what do you want, Adelle?" his voice started to rise, hand gripping mine. "I can't...we can't just stay and do nothing."

I looked at him, looked very carefully at the vampire's face, which was displaying a ray of emotions going from worry, to anger and desperation.

"I know, Stefan. I realize how you are feeling, but can't you see that I feel the same?" He shut his lips in a tight line. "Can't you see that just as you both worry about me, I am scared for your safety as well? You said it yourself, Katherine is too smart, too cunning. Going alone against her will bring nothing good."

"I..." At my words, at my wavering voice and eyes that became glassy without my permission, his anger slowly disappeared.

"Here, we are a team, Stefan. Here we have Bonnie and her Grams, we have house that she can't enter. Here, we know about her plan, we have Isobel too. Alaric is a hunter, you and Damon are vampires...I have a taser ..." I choked out a small laugh. "It might not be much, but when we are all close and ...we don't go alone and behind the others backs to play sacrificial goats...we actually have a chance of outsmarting her, Stefan."

"I understand, Adelle, but she is not your problem. When we came here, Damon and I, we brought all of those problems with us, I can't ask from you to be part of it, or anyone else. Katherine is our responsibility."

"The people here will protect themselves and the ones they love, Stefan, there is no need for you to ask anything from anyone." I fired back, controlling my outburst from before.

For a moment we just stared at each other, both fighting silently with the other. And when the vampire saw I was not backing down, he let out a sigh.

"What do you want me to do?"

"Call Damon to come back. Tell him to stop putting himself in danger because if anything happened to him, to you, I would never forgive you, I would never forgive myself." Was my response and it made the wanted impact as the vampire's features in front of me, became gentle, expressive with unspoken emotions and tenderness.

He slowly nodded.

"Okay. We will think of another way." I let myself smile a little even if it was forced.

Just the thought of something hurting him...him or Damon made me feel sick. Sick and angry.

* * *

For the rest of the school day, after I was sure Damon was coming back, Stefan and I continued working on the decorations for the parade. We talked about Isobel, Katherine and Elena. Stefan told me some of his good memories when he was still human. Then he spoke about his progress with drinking human blood, about the time he spends with his brother and how slowly but steadily they were getting to know each other all over again. The vampire next to me was positive, he was glad that he had his big brother back and I didn't missed the way he spoke about Damon...as he admired him but loved his bad side as well.

The bond I hoped for was really there and to hear one of them talking about it so freely with me, made me feel warm inside. It made me happy and giddy that I had gained his trust and he was confiding in me.

Once we were done, I had successfully persuaded Caroline to let us go. We parted ways at the entrance of the school, as Stefan was going to meet Damon, feed together and then have a talk with Alaric. Those three had somehow decided that they would get to the bottom of this curse and find out what Katherine's plan was.

I declined the offer to go with him, as I was planning on seeing Tyler and having a little chat with Sheila.

When I was in front of her house, I didn't even get the chance to knock as the witch was already opening the front door.

"Adelle. To what do I owe this surprising visit?" Asked the Bennett. She didn't show any kind of surprise or suspicion to me being there. Silently, she led me towards her living room. "Do you want some tea?"

"Oh, no thank you, I would not be staying for long." Sheila nodded and slowly took place opposite of me.

"Is something wrong? I believe that Bonnie would have called me if anyone was in danger." She questioned and I searched my brain for a way to ask for this favor I had. Ugh. Witches. It's hard to lie to them, they sense it, evil, they are detectors for everything. If I had any other option I would have chosen it, but I was left barehanded and I needed her help.

Any other research, any other person I asked for assistance could not help me. But how do I do this? How do I approach this topic without telling her the truth? Taking a deep breath, I reminded myself that my family was somewhere, and I had get them back somehow.

"Adelle?"

"I need your help, Sheila." That caught her attention.

"In what way, my dear? Does it has to do with the Salvatore brothers, because if so you have to understand..." I shook my head.

"No. It's not like that." I saw the curiosity in her getting bigger.

"Then?"

"I...Please correct me if I'm wrong, but in the woods, just out of town, there is this burned down house, where the legends say hundred of witches burned to death." Her eyes grew big with surprise. "Am I right?"

"How do you know about this?" The Bennett questioned, no longer hiding her suspicions.

"I heard the legends, and after everything that happened around here, I thought this particular story might be true as well." I elaborated, not really lying, but not telling the truth either. I was stating facts.

"Yes, you are right, Adelle, there is a place like this." Good. At least she is not lying to me...for the moment, like last time.

"I've read and Bonnie had shared with me, that when a witch is killed and dies by force, the place she takes her last breath becomes in a way magical, storing some of her left over powers." The old woman clenched her teeth, visibly not happy with her grand daughter sharing such knowledge with someone who associates herself closely with vampires.

She will get over it.

Stubborn elders. At least I knew she wasn't making Bonnie a vampire hater or something, as that went out of the window when her best friend became one and she promised to help and protect her. Oh the horror that Sheila must have gone through when she found out about Bon's actions.

I held back a cackle.

"It looks like Bonnie shares a lot of information with you, Adelle." Stated the old witch.

"She does, because Bonnie knows she can trust me and I would never use this knowledge against her or you." I told her, staring right at her, willing her to see that I was indeed telling the truth.

There was a brief pause, my friend's Grams evaluating me, judging and searching. When she was done, she sighed and nodded.

"You are correct once more. Why do you ask me these questions, miss Gilbert?"

"There must be a reason for this magic to stay behind. Why?" I asked even if I already knew the answer. Problem was that I could never admit it so I had to go through all this trouble first, before I could state my true intentions. This time though, Sheila answered me without the additional questioning.

"It is a way to contact the said witch. Or in this case, if knowing the right way... to channel that power." BINGO!

I nodded. Trying to hold back how pleased I was that the oldest Bennett hadn't lied to me. Now comes the hardest part.

"And when you mean contact, you are saying actually speaking with this witch's spirit. No?"

"Yes."

"Good." Was my reply and that immediately made her ridged and stiff. Not letting her question me, I continued. "I would like to ask you a favor, Mrs. Bennett. I want you to make this connection between the witches killed in the burned house and me..." She gasped in shock.

"What? Why would you? Adelle do you understand what you are asking from me? Why would I let you speak with dead spirits when us witches don't do it ourselves? Don't joke around miss Gilbert." Now she was glaring at me.

"Sheila.."

"No. There are always consequences. For a human to speak with the dead is stepping over the balance of nature. I can't do that, Adelle, you don't understand the dangers in this. No one can disturb the spirits." She shook her head, hands clenching.

I felt anger rising in my throat, managing to barely hold it down. I wanted to scream. I wanted to tell her that I was well aware of everything she was warning me about, but I was left with no other choices. I had to find answers, the witches saw everything, they were nosy and would probably know how I got here. Those dead witches were my chance to find the true.

And this woman was refusing to help me.

Hold it together Adelle, she doesn't know. No one knows. Just...just make her agree…

"Sheila, maybe you think that I am foolish and that I'm playing with fire, but I understand the consequences. I know the danger and I am willing to risk it, please do this for me." She had gained her own control over the outburst from few moments ago, now staring at me, once again judging. Eyes narrowed, piercing. The ends of my hair electrified themselves. Like I had rubbed them against a balloon.

"Why? What do you want to ask them? What can they tell you that Bonnie or I can't help you with?" Was her question and I knew, I just knew that whatever came out of my mouth would be the deciding factor.

Taking a deep breath, I chose to tell the truth.

"I want to ask about my family, about my parents and...and where they are now. How...how they are doing..." My eyes watered, I was telling no lie here even if her understanding of parents and mine were completely different people. It didn't matter. Her expression softened. She might have seen a poor little girl, that was still feeling the devastating loss of loosing her mother and father, a girl that needed her closure, something to help her sleep at night.

And she wasn't far from the truth.

"It's not going to bring them back, Adelle." I nodded, deciding to stay quiet and not talk. "They might not even speak with you, as you are not a witch. They might get angry, Adelle." She got in return another nod.

A pause.

"Okay." I snapped my head in her direction, surprise taking over me. "I am not promising it will be successful or that you will get answers, but I will do it. The night of the parade, when everyone is in the center you will wait for me at the end of town, we will go together."

Less then two days. And I might find out the truth.

"Thank you." Was the only thing I could muster.

"Don't thank me yet, child. There will be a price to pay, a price that I will not be able to help you with, that I don't know of."

It didn't matter.

What was important was to get my family.

* * *

"So how is she?" I asked, taking a sip from my lemon water.

Bonnie and I had met the same night in the Grill. It has been a while since we had some alone time to talk and catch up and today we had finally gotten some spare hours from our own madness to just chill and eat together.

When the said witch was free from the ordering clutches of our blond friend, she and Alaric had gone to see Elena. In the same time I had been with her Grams so I could not accompany them. From the looks of it, Sheila hadn't said anything to her, or the Bennett in front of me would not have been so relaxed.

"Yeah, well, she and her...Isobel were getting along. From what Lena told me, they had spent the day talking, getting to know each other. Nothing too deep...just the basics? If you could say that. It was surreal to tell you the truth, I just ...had this feeling that even if this woman cared a lot about Elena… she wouldn't even blink before killing me or Alaric...her ex husband."

I cringed.

Yep, I wasn't the only one seeing this.

She nodded in understanding way.

"And Ric?"

"Yeah...well, they didn't talk or anything, Isobel tried to say something to him, but he was only interested in the safety of Elena and how her control was going." Bonnie answered.

"In other words – awkward as fuck." We both laughed.

"Yes. God, thank you for saying it!" The witch grinned and I only shrugged.

"You are way to nice, Bon Bon, so leave it to me!" Winking, we kept on talking.

From what she told me, Elena wasn't in any ...immediate danger there, so for a while she might as well benefit staying with her biological mother.

"So Care said something about catching you and Stefan in a rather..." I groaned. "...compromising position." Shaking my head I looked anywhere but her. The amusement was clear in her voice without even needing to look at her. "What were her exact words...ah! 'Stefan was a step away from fucking Ad right trough the teacher's desk!'"

I choked on my water.

Coughing like a loon, the Bennett didn't seemed bothered by my lack of breathing as she was too busy laughing her ass off.

Witch!

"No, but seriously, what's the deal with you...two… three...well I'm confused." Continued Bonnie, waving off my glare.

Tche. The nerve.

I was the one that made people choke! Not the other way around! Ask the brat. Hah.

"Nothing is happening…!"

"Aha...sure." She rolled her eyes.

"No! It's...complicated. When I get my answers and know what is going on… I promise I will tell you." I fired right back and pulling on a pout along with a puppy face, so I can get off of this topic.

"Whatever. I will cash in that promise, Addie." Bonnie finally relented, waving a finger in my direction, jokingly glaring at me.

I let out a sigh, happy it was over.

For now.

"What about your boy toy?" That made her blush. And I held back a smirk.

For the rest of the dinner we talked boyfriends and magic. It was good to know she was happy... well, as much as possible in these circumstances. Who knew it would only take a boy, Damon not going after her and her not sacrificing herself left and right?

* * *

My next and last stop for the day was the Lockwood mansion. Seriously. Today I felt like I was going on rounds and checking on all of those people, cause they were too lazy to came to my house.

Tche.

Fuckers.

I was led in by a maid, who took me to where Tyler's man cave was. Thankfully his parents were out on some kind of meeting and I didn't have to see them. Especially our dear mayor.

Bet it's council shit.

And I bet that Damon was dragged into it as well.

Muaha.

Sucker.

That's what he gets for forcing his way in it. Boring, hours long meetings where he had to pretend to care and be concerned.

Snort.

Like hell he is.

Entering the said room I was met with Tyler and Jeremy sitting on the fancy floor, backs leaning on the expensive sofa, playing some kind of game on the enormous flat screen opposite of them.

Rich kids and their toys.

"Can I join?" I asked, succeeding in gaining their attention, even for a brief moment. A nod of confirmation from the owner of the house and a genuine smile from my brother/brat. I grinned at how serious they were concentrated on the screen. Stepping closer, I noticed their shoulders touching, as they were indeed sitting close to one other.

The noise was strangely comforting and after today's numerous debacles, I welcomed it with no protests. Feeling too lazy to go around the sofa, like a monkey I stepped right over it, flopping on the center of the leather seat with little grace. Not that I cared at all. I was in the presence of the two guys who let me feel like the lazy fucker I was, just like I was in my own home...you know? The one from the other universe?

I crawled till I was positioned behind the two teens and as I slowly started to look closely to what they were playing, drowsiness swept over me. Popping my bones like a cat that was just waking up, I laid down on the couch, bringing my knees towards my chest, so that my toes were near Jeremy's ears and my head was resting on the shoulder of the relaxed wolf-to-be.

Both boys didn't seem to care as I invaded both of their personal spaces, but maybe they had been terrorized by Caroline just as much as I had been today. So no one really gave a damn. Jeremy was sending me amused glances from time to time and when I would make a funny face at him, he would retaliate by bumping his head on my legs. Which would succeed in disturbing my perfect position.

And it was a great pain in the ass to find, time after time, the same exact place where the cushions were dipped just the right amount for me to feel like I was in heaven.

There were small talks here and there, nothing serious, as the three of us were strangely engrossed by the game before us.

I would blame it later on the feeling of accomplishment I carried after my talk with Sheila, but I was feeling so at ease...and content that I didn't stop myself from the times I would stretch my hand and half pat half ruffle the mess of a hair the Gilbert kid was sporting. The first time was completely unintentional, as Jeremy had just succeeded in beating some tough target and he turned towards me grinning and beaming like a little puppy. My hand just reacted on it's own accord.

I swear.

It was just that the brat looked almost identical to Beluga, that I couldn't resist doing it. And we all know what a sucker I am for the white Samoyed. Oh could you blame me?

I was planning on pretending this motion never happened and I would have denied it with all I got, if it was ever mentioned again, but maybe it was the way Jeremy smiled so brightly, or the way he preened under the praise of his older sister…that I just kept on doing it, every time he did something...cool.

Later I would explain this same situation as a result of how happy I was, because of the older Bennett agreeing to help me out.

Nothing more. Nothing less.

After loosing awareness of the time, Tyler slowly opened up about how he was taking in this whole knew part of himself.

"I tried talking with my father...but we never had that...connection, like the rest of the people, so when I approached the topic, he only waved me off."

I didn't miss the way Jeremy stiffened a little. Maybe it was the knowledge that the Mayor was one way or another a shitty parent. Or maybe it was a distant memory of his own relationship with his father. I didn't want to know. I didn't think I could tell him anything to make him feel better. So I stayed quiet.

"I searched for some journals, like the ones your family has kept, but there was nothing. I was about to let it go, but then I found old newspapers from around the country." That grabbed my attention. "Some dated from decades ago and there were different announcements underlined about the deaths of people. I was confused, not understanding, but then I saw initials next to every single one of them." He paused, sparing us both a pained look. "It didn't take me long to find out what those initials meant."

"Your distant family members." I whispered in wonder, watching as the quarterback nodded gravely.

"And the people they have killed one way or another." He continued.

"Which activated their curse." Jeremy was the last to conclude.

Fuck.

No one knew what to say after that. After the awkward painful silence, Jer let out a sigh, turned towards me and Tyler and stared right at the wolf. Not speaking a word, he placed his hand on the shoulder of the other boy and squeezed it once.

This simple gesture was what Ty needed. What made him let out a staggering breath and nod slowly. Accepting. Understanding. Thankful.

Because this gesture, even as simple as it was, was able to send an equally simple message.

 _'You are not alone. We got your back.'_

* * *

Driving back to the Gilbert's house, I was alone. Jeremy had agreed to stay over as I volunteered on being the one to keep Jenna company. After the whole Elena fiasco, the aunt wanted to always have someone in the house with her. In a way she demanded that no one was left alone, that the family was constantly in the presence of another trusted person.

I respected her for that.

She had secretly turned into a great guardian...to three deranged teens. One – vampire / ex bank for mass creation of indestructible hybrids. Other – future hunter / part of the five and a constant visitor to the dead himself. And...well me – the girl from another dimension / with the knowledge to play with people's destinies.

Good job Jenna!

Of coarse I didn't say any of this, cause seriously I was done for the year with consoling hysterical 'family members' and my quota for praises had been filled...for the rest of the decade, thank you very much.

But that didn't stop me from joining her in the living room, eating popcorn and watching some sad romantic drama slash the reason I pulled my hair till it fell out.

Kidding.

But, seriously, who watched such sappy stories and romantic bullshit, when we all knew that they only happened in the movies?

Two hours of cringe worthiness.

But at least Jenna was happy. That counts for something right? And maybe...who was I shitting...first thing in the morning I was sending a copy of this monstrosity to Alaric, with the threat that if he didn't watched it and make a summery on it, I would program his TV to only play porn.

Again.

Heh...that made me feel a lot better.

Grinning to myself, I slowly made my way to my bedroom. There, I almost lost my shit as Damon Salvatore scared the bejeezus out of me, by sitting on my sofa in the corner of my room, flipping through one of my personal albums filled with photos.

And you know… the same exact sofa, under which I still hid the white oak wood.

And the same exact album, that I had my finest pictures but I was still too shy to show them to anyone. Rightfully called – 'Secret heaven.'

"Why! Aren't we in a good mood?" Winked the raven vampire at me, sporting an amused smirk. He ignored my glare at the invasion of my privacy he was committing by holding the book in his hands.

The bastard flipped another page.

My blood boiled.

And in the same time I still found it endearing.

Fuck it. I admit that even if I wanted to smack him stupid, Damon looked even more sexy in the dim lights of my room.

Fuck you Salvatore and your out of this world gorgeous genes!

Fuck you!

Deciding to answer his question, I remembered why I had the evil grin on my face, while making my way to the said room.

Hold back the cackle, Ad!

"Will it be too much to say that I am my own inspiration?" At my response the vampire was only able to quirk his brow up in question, not hiding the amusement in his eyes.

"You are terrible person." He said. I shrugged. "It's hilarious." Well, look at that. Someone appreciates my effort!

"It feels good to be recognized for your achievements, I agree." I nodded, playing along, while starting to prepare for bed.

"Don't be cocky. It's unbecoming." That made me peek from the door of my closet where I was changing, sending an incredulous expression at him. Him? He...like Damon was the one to tell me this? Is he serious right now? "It's unbecoming. For you." He waved me off as I was about to protest. "I can pull it off, though." Scoffing, I hid the grin that came over me.

What? The bastard was funny!

"What's that I'm hearing? Look at that! I made the Adelle Gilbert laugh!" The Salvatore mocked me, and as I stepped out I glared playfully at him, pleased to see that the album was left on the small table next to him.

"Hey, I am at least big enough to admit I am often inspired by myself!" He applauded me for my cheekiness and the easiness of the whole interaction made me smile freely in front of him.

He, surprisingly, did the same.

Woop, woop! Points for Ad! I am a master at making the Salvatore's smile!

Heh.

Slowly though, his expression became serious. I unconsciously stepped closer to him, even if his body betrayed nothing, I knew better. I saw his jaw set in place, eyes following me, screaming that what he was going to say was serious. And thus capturing my attention.

"Mind repeating the whole reason Stefan called me to cut my visit to some old friends short?" I gulped, not knowing why I felt nervous.

"Didn't he already tell you?" I asked, not missing how his gaze narrowed.

"I want to hear you say it, Adelle." I obliged, not because of how commanding the vampire's voice was, or because I was afraid. No, it was the underlying tone of his words, almost hidden perfectly, but I somehow heard it clearly as a sunny day.

Need.

Need to see if what I had said was true, if I really meant it.

"I don't want you to get hurt, Damon. And yes, I know it's stupid, I know you can take care of yourself and that you have gone through way worse, but you weren't part of my life then. And...I would not...I could never forgive myself if you died, Salvatore." Bravely, I looked at him straight in those big blue eyes, not allowing myself to observe the rest of his face, afraid I would get lost in it. "I am only human, I realize that I can't protect you the way you could yourself, but here surrounded with other people who could help...who have mine… our backs, it... it makes me able to sleep better at night. And I know it might sound selfish, but you should understand where I am coming from, as I know that you would do anything to protect the ones you care most for."

He was only able to nod once.

"So please, don't go somewhere without telling me, without...someone to have you covered if you need it. I just...the thought of one moment you … Stefan...being here and then...just not. It will ruin me, Damon."

At my admission I was unable to hold back the blush creeping up my neck, painting my cheeks as well. Feeling hot all of a sudden, I looked down but I was only wearing cotton black shorts and t-shirt. So I had no excuse.

"Adelle." The husky deep voice snapped me back to reality. To the embarrassing reality where I just opened up about one of my greatest fears here. And admitting of having any...it made me feel weak. I didn't like it. "Adelle, look at me." Against my will, my head lifted so I was now once again seeing the sitting vampire. This time around he was leaning closer, eyes dark, expression serious but full of emotions, arm extended in my direction.

He beckoned me towards him.

And just like that, my legs refused to listen to my brain and took one step after another. When I was finally in front of the older brother, his hands silently placed themselves on the back of my knees. He was watching my every reaction closely, waiting for me to pull away or show protest.

I was able to only follow his lead, as the vampire pulled me to himself, my legs spreading, so his were in between mine and before I knew it I was sitting on his lap.

My breathing was harsh, lips slightly parted as I saw the way his eyes swept all over me, looking, appreciating, memorizing every corner, every inch of my body. No longer were his orbs blue, now they were almost black not hiding the heat behind them, the desire leaving his body... in waves, crashing right into my own.

His touch was electrifying, burning my naked skin, as he moved his hands up and down my legs, then caressing...dancing from my outer thighs to my inner, fingers shying just a breath away from under my shorts.

Each movement made my heart flip again and again. Each breath and look...made me light headed.

Feeling like I was loosing my balance...loosing a grip on my surroundings, my hands instinctively moved to support my blushing self. At first I placed them on Damon's shoulders, but the vampire grabbed them gently and moved them to his torso.

His eyes said it all.

They...oh my God...they were begging me to touch him.

I forgot how to breathe…

Gulping down a...sigh...bile of nerves...moan? I started to explore his chest. Just as slowly as him, my fingers memorized his every muscle. The content and happy little groan that escaped Damon's lips told me he appreciated it as much as I did.

This was fucking surreal.

Then there was this unmistakable gleam in his eyes. Before I could question it, the older Salvatore took my camera, which had been resting on little table next to us. He placed it in my hands and I gripped it, still feeling lost in this unbelievable trance.

"Take a photo, Addie." His voice vibrated through me, sending tingles of pleasure all over my body. When I didn't react immediately, he continued. "Do it, sweet Adelle."

Wordlessly I followed, knowing that he was right, that even if I didn't know Damon's intentions, I would never allow such an opportunity to get past me. The man below me was so open, so sincere and filled with passion and desire and...love that I had to have some kind of proof this wasn't just a dream. That what was before me wasn't part of my imagination and that I wasn't loosing my damn mind.

Placing the device to my eyes, I looked through the lens - a man, a vampire, a creature that was letting me in, that showed me a side of him no one had the right to witness but me.

All those emotions. This madness. I wanted to make it immortal.

 _Click._

"Again." Whispered the vampire, eyes boring in mine, burning me from the inside out, even if he didn't see mine. Staring right at the camera, but talking to me, watching only me.

 _Click._

Was I even breathing? How was I reigning my trembling fingers? Where were his hands?

It didn't matter as the magic of photography took me over completely. I needed more. The artist in me couldn't hold back when presented with such perfection, with such passion and rawness no one let you see in today's worlds.

All because of me. Me.

 _Click._

"Another." Damon spoke.

 _Click._

"Once more!" He came closer.

 _Click._

"Take more. Take all you can." Now I was capturing his eyes. His lips. His neck.

 _Click._

 _Click._

"Only me, sweet Adelle, only me. Fill this album with photos of no one else."

 _Click._

 _Click._

 _Click!._

The device was taken away from my grasp. Not carrying where Damon put it, I only focused on trying to breath, on trying to stop the way my heart was ringing in my ears. His face was now an inch from mine. Eyes blown wide open, no doubt mimicking my own, shining with madness no other has seen, crazy and eating me whole.

I was in pure Heaven.

Or Hell.

It was impossible to think at the moment.

"Do you see now?" His words fanned over my face, as I leaned in. Silently begging. Begging him, to stop torturing me and to just ...to just kiss me!

"Damon..."

"Do you see what you have been doing to me, my sweet, sweet Adelle. All along. Can you understand now? Understand me and my brother?" I had no words, I probably had forgotten how to speak.

I nodded.

"Good!" He growled. "Keep on looking, Adelle. I am done hiding it! I am done pretending that it's a joke. I can't hold myself back any longer. This torture you are going through now?" I whimpered. "I have been going through it for a fucking long time."

His hands then found themselves right under my butt, squeezing briefly, shocking a moan out of me as I nodded again and again.

"When you are done hiding. When you accept what we all know, Adelle, and you stop finding excuses, come to me." His voice held nothing but promise. "And I will give you everything. Everything and everyone that you want."

"Okay." My voice was coming back to me.

"Okay?" The vampire asked once more.

"Yes."

Then I was lifted from his lap, and if I was in any other state of mind I would have shrieked, as Damon carried me towards my bed, holding me secure just under my bottom. My legs instinctively wrapped themselves around his waist, arms around his neck, as my eyes were still held captive by his own.

No long after I was under my sheets, body curled in, gripping the blankets around me.

"Good night, sweet Adelle." With a single kiss on my forehead, the man that just shook my world from under my feet, disappeared into the darkness.

It took me a long time to calm down.

To breath normally. To think. To get a grip over myself.

When I did...

I slept with millions of thoughts floating around me.


	15. Chapter 15

Disclaimer

I do not own Vampire Diaries. The O.C. is my only original character.

This story will follow the series to some extend, there will be a lot of changes and you will find a partial O.O.C. here.

It will be rated **[M]** for future chapters and yes it will be a **Menage love story/P** **olygamous relationship** , if you don't like please don't read.

I welcome constructive criticism and if you would like to help me with that, please write me a P.M.

Big thanks to my Betas - _AOHAD_ and _Really Clumsy_ for correcting this chapter! ^w^

 **[!]** Comments. Follows. Any kind of support is highly appreciated. No kidding, it does give the motivation to update faster!

* * *

Chapter 15

So Alaric was grumpy this morning. From the moment I opened my mouth he had a vein popping on his forehead. His eye twitched and all.

Beluga payed us no attention. He just strolled past the entrance of the apartment like he owned my teacher's place. It was the morning before the parade and I had no desire to show up to school. How was it possible that the principle agreed to let us off classes just so we could organize the stupid celebration? Like did he see us as slaves who didn't get payed? Or was it just Caroline orchestrating everything?

But hey, let's not get distracted, okay?

The reason as to why Ric was ready to pop was because before he could even greet me I spilled everything from last night.

Yes.

I wasn't kidding.

"I almost molested Stefan yesterday, then Damon showed up and we had some kind of camera foreplay and then he just lured me in and left me hanging! What is this all about? Like how can he ask me to make a decision about something I don't even know? And can we talk about Stefan and his brother's tendencies to trespass and invade any kind of personal space?" I said all in one breath and the more I talked the more the hunter turned green.

"What?" his voice was low, eyes narrowed into slits. I shrugged.

"What, what?" I couldn't decide if he felt more uncomfortable or pissed at what I had said.

"How...since when? Do they bother you...and w-what...what do you mean you … molested ...ugh...I need coffee." and then he was moving towards the kitchen. I grinned from behind him and followed without a word.

So maybe it wasn't the best way to start someone's morning the way I did to Alaric, but hey, I felt like he was the only person I could tell the mess I found myself in.

Yeah...the guy looked like he would drink a green smoothie before he would willingly listen to me.

And yeah, he didn't want anything to do with it and was not the best at giving advice.

But.

But, Ric was the closest thing to a father I had here and I knew that even if he did turn blue and would likethe ground to swallow him whole before he heard about the way I had straddled Damon last night, he would still hear me out.

He would still give me the most awkward advice that would make me feel awkward as well but in the end it would be the best thing I would ever hear.

It did help as well the protectiveness I saw from the moment I spoke about my personal space, or the way he looked like he would strangle the two vampires.

My heart fluttered with happiness the same way it did whenever my father would glare at a boy in my universe for glancing in my direction.

When I placed our breakfast, which I had made back at home, in front of us and served us both coffee, twice as strong than usual, my teacher was ready to go through what was maybe his most awkward talk with anyone.

"Just...just tell me the least detailed version, please." the painful look on his face was priceless.

I did not feel even the least bit uncomfortable. So I told him. About the beginning and how I cared about the two brothers, and that I was trying to bring them back together. That I wanted what was best for them and I would do anything I could to make them close once more. I explained how for the past week or two...things had changed in a way.

"You mean…?" I shrugged, trying to place our closeness in words that would not sound strange to Alaric and wouldn't make him want to turn purple this time.

I saw how he just wanted to be anywhere but there and talk about anything else than this. But he was still sitting there in front of me, listening.

And that was the best thing I could wish from anyone. To listen. To understand.

"I don't know, Ric. It's just that we are closer...and … and..." I shuddered, God, it was hard to think about it, but even harder to say it out loud.

"You have feelings. For both of them, don't you?" Alaric asked me, face calm, for the first time this morning not expressing any shyness.

All I did was nod.

"Adelle..." he sighed and I couldn't take it anymore, I stood up and started pacing around him.

My head was going to explode. It hurt to even imagine it. What about anything else...

I wanted to stay as far away as possible. I didn't want to think about what mess I had made, how fucked up it was. I knew, I fucking knew that I had feelings for Damon and Stefan. I had breached any boundaries I had set for myself. It was just so easy to fall for them. So easy to just let myself go.

Beluga whined in distress on the floor, sensing that something was wrong. Alaric just sat there and let me think about it.

For the first time I was doing that. Thinking, I mean.

Till now I had adopted the mantra of ignoring the problem till it disappeared. But from the looks of it, the more I stayed silent the more things changed. Last night I blocked anything connected with this, so I slept soundly. But today? The shit just hit me from nowhere.

Yes. I am not blind. I can sense even it. This so called change. First I wrote it off as me becoming a good friend to both vampires in whom they could confide in and let their guards down with. I had told myself that I could not let it get any further. I was keeping too many secrets. I was no Katherine.

But then it got harder and harder. Each time Stefan would smile at me, would touch my hand or kiss my cheek, my heart would stutter and I would feel so loved and cherished, so respected...that I just could not stop it from happening again. Damon would let me see this selfless side of him, would not try to hide his demons … he would make my skin burn just by looking at me. Every time I was near them I...I just wanted more and more.

Attention.

Touch.

Love.

Passion.

Anything. Everything.

I was fucking greedy and I felt like the most precious thing in the world when they payed attention to me and only me. Both brothers were the two sides of the same coin, different but still identical all at once.

I was going to be okay, just being their friend and help them be close once more. I was going to be content seeing them happy with someone else. Hell, I changed the entire plot just to make sure that they would have each other and nothing would tear them apart any more.

But...before I knew it, their presence had become addicting. I felt free and understood when I was with either of them. I wasn't a good person and they knew it, but they still didn't seem to mind. I kept lying and...and maybe they knew that too...but still let me do it, not asking why or what.

And...shit I needed my sister to tell me what to do.

To tell me how to interpret what Damon had said last night. Did he know? That I had feelings for him and Stefan? Did he see right through me? If so, why would he propose to give me whatever I wanted ...when he knew I wanted both of them?

I could never ask for something like that. I would forget them both, if it meant saving their relationship.

Okay.

Breath.

Just...think rationally.

Stefan. He was the 'good' brother, which was complete bullshit. He was as jaded as Damon, if not more, for fighting his vampire side for so long, till he finally accepted it. He was kind, compassionate, ready to dive in any kind of trouble to save someone. He had his hero cap on more times than it was healthy, and this readiness to sacrifice himself wasn't cool at all. But since I came here, he had become more selfish, freer and less tortured. He was letting go, allowing himself to do what was best for him...and not for the others. Stefan started drinking human blood, he got stronger, accepted the ripper inside and relished in its powers. He even got more snarky and daring.

This time around he wasn't blinded by Elena...he didn't judge his brother. On the contrary, he accepted Damon just like the vampire in him. That made it possible for them to get closer. For God's sake they hunted together! This side of his, that Klaus liked so much, this darkness, it was there I saw it, he didn't hide from it, he relished in it. And maybe till now the vampire didn't get the chance to show it, but there will be a time, when Stefan will kill, he will drink blood and will show just how demonic he could be. And he would not feel guilt. At all. Because no matter how much he denied it, Damon was influencing him. Still, I knew, he would always be the first out of the two to step up and help a stranger. The only difference would be that he would always choose himself and his brother's wellbeing and not sacrifice their relationship for anything. Something he never learned in the series.

The results were obvious. Stefan was a lot calmer, he didn't look so sad all the time and didn't need to fight himself when he smelled blood. Even the way he walked and stood was less tense. He appeared to feel freer. And the shyness and tortured soul bullshit we saw so much in the show were no longer there, in their place I saw confidence, sarcasm … boldness. He didn't treat me like a damsel in distress, he listened to me and respected my wishes. And even if they would bring me pain or put me in danger, Stefan still accepted it all, he just decided to stand by my side while doing it. This never happened in his relation with Elena. She was always coddled and left in the unknown when it came to his darker side. If you thought about it the doppelganger didn't really love Stefan for who he was, she fell for only part of him, for the hero and the person that didn't accept himself. That's why they never worked. Because her perception of him was only partly true.

My Stefan… he didn't hide himself from me, he didn't hide from himself most of all. This darkness, the killer, the animal wanting blood, thriving in dead...he embraced it. He didn't lie to me about what he did. What he was capable of. And maybe it was because I didn't judge him...that I didn't care about it...maybe it was because of it, that he let me in completely. I saw the real him, the good and the bad and I still loved everything. When he was gentle with me, when he barely grazed my hand with his, or smiled tentatively in my direction...or listened to my babbling, I loved it. Just as much as the side of him when he would look at me like I was a piece of meat that he wanted to devour...or when I angered him or nagged him and I got the distinctive impression that he was ready to lock me up somewhere. When he was rougher. I loved that as well. The Ripper in him, made me feel the trill of the danger, while the human side of his, let me know I could cry on his shoulder. It was maddening. But I still freaking desired it...him. I still loved every moment, every touch.

Damon. He wasn't the bad guy everyone thought he was. Yes, he was ready to do what no one could in the worst situations just so he could save the day, even if it made him the monster in the end. But this wasn't all he was. No. This vampire appeared to not care, appeared to not hide anything. He thrived in being immortal, in using his powers. The sarcasm, the snark, the way he provoked, fought and did not give a flying fuck about how he was perceived was something I admired a lot in him. But that wasn't all he was. Far from it, actually. Even if he liked being in the shadows, doing the dirty work, Damon still wanted his brother, no matter how much he acted like he didn't care, he still did. For Stefan. He would die for his little brother, he would give up anything for him. I knew, I damn fucking knew that he would never let anything get between them anymore.

This time around Damon would not destroy what he had with Stefan for a girl, not like last time. So no matter how selfish he was about everything else, the older Salvatore was completely selfless when it came to his brother. I had seen the way he looked so content and...relaxed around Stefan. Before, he could never let his guard down, but now whenever I saw them together, he had this easy smile, this brother-ish behavior. Whenever Stefan did good in controlling his thrust, my God, Damon looked like the proudest sibling I have ever seen. Even if he hid it well seconds after.

The vampire wasn't blinded by Katherine, or obsessed with Elena, he actually really worked hard to get what he and Stefan had lost so many decades ago. He didn't look for salvation in someone else, in a girl...or alcohol. No he found it in his own blood. The change was enormous. I had no doubt he could kill anyone in a blink of an eye. Just like before. But this time...he...he listened to someone else that wasn't him. He accepted help...advice. Yeah, he was still a bastard full of himself, he still was proud, lethal, sarcastic. He still acted before thinking, appeared as a complete douchebag with the biggest ego ever. But...he showed Stefan...he showed me...and even Ric...sometimes, that he wasn't all that. I knew that already, Stefan knew that too, but it was good to see that he didn't fight with himself and hid anything that showed he felt, that he had humanity.

This time, whenever we were alone I saw the glimpse of love for his brother, of concern for him and me. He showed me and Stefan that he indeed actually cared about how we saw him and because of that I tried even harder to make him understand that I accepted him. The bad and the good side of him. That he didn't have to hide the latter to appear strong. That I would not betray him if he showed weakness or real compassion. Slowly I saw him heal, the hold Katherine had over him, that his father had as well, the betrayal, the doubts and fear of not being loved, they... healed. Maybe it was the bond he formed with Stefan, maybe it was the way they learned to be brothers once more and helped each other fight their demons, maybe it was me who showed him that someone loved him no matter what he did, no matter what he was or wasn't. And I truly did, through the hardships, the mistakes he committed, I saw him for who he was in reality, I saw the way he let loose, the way he made my blood pump in my veins, the way he made me feel reckless and adventurous. Just like his brother he had good and bad in him. Just like his brother he first fought one of those two, but later learned to accept it all, to embrace the light, just like Stefan learned to see the dark. Before I knew it, Damon had a permanent place in my heart as well. He made me feel free, pushed me to do stupid things, didn't care how lame they were, he made me feel passion.

No, both of them did.

Both showed me that I had good and bad in me.

Both showed me different sides of me.

When one was tender, the other was rough. When one was smiling, the other was smirking. When one made me feel sane, the other made me go crazy. And more, so much more. I could never say who did what... or how, they were both...it.

The same and but different.

It was completely crazy.

The two gave me something, always opposite of the other, Stefan the ice, Damon the fire, Stefan the bad, Damon the good. Then they would change all over again. The brothers were not black and white...just like my feelings for them weren't that easy and obvious for me as well.

I felt passion. Love. Acceptance. Freedom. Completeness. Adventure.

From both of them.

I couldn't decide who gave me more, who took more, who I wanted more.

Who I loved more.

And I knew one day that would be my ending.

Because I couldn't decide. Not when both were all I had, I felt and needed. Not when both were as good for me as they were bad for me too.

Stefan and Damon were polar opposites just as much as they were completely alike...equals. They were one.

So how could I choose? There was no choice, no way to separate one from the other, not when that would destroy me...and them. Not when I felt complete only in the presence of the two Salvatores.

So. Yes.

I Adelle Gilbert...Adellina Ivanova… I was in love with Damon Salvatore. I was in love with Stefan Salvatore. I was in fucking love with both of them!

And maybe...this could work...maybe I could find a way not to tear them apart with my selfishness, with my Katherine-esque behavior.

Maybe Damon was serious when he said that he would give everything. Even if that meant sharing my love with his brother.

And maybe it would be the best thing that could ever happen to me.

But right here, right now, it wasn't possible.

I couldn't let that happen, because I could never be enough, not for one...especially not for the two of them. I could never be that selfish and ask them to accept my love for both of them. They deserved someone better, they deserved someone who would love only one of them. Not both.

And most of all...they deserved someone who didn't keep secrets from them.

How would they react if...when I told them the truth? How would I want them to not only accept my inability to love only one...but also the fact I wasn't who I said I was...that a big part of what they thought they knew about me...was a lie. That there was an entire life I hid from them.

And this realization hurt more than anything I have ever felt. It hurt, because now that I let myself admit that I loved them...I was coming to the terms that I could never have them. Not...when I couldn't give them myself entirely. Not when one half of me was locked away...that wished so much for her family...wished to go back, to be with her mom and dad, with her sister and niece.

One day I would succeed in finding how I could go home, I would find a way to go back to my real world.

One day I would have to choose.

And no matter what I would decide...in the end...I would never be complete. I would never have both of my lives...it would be either the people I loved or the people I was in love with.

It would destroy me.

But it was too late to go back, I couldn't stop how I felt.

So do you see why I never wanted to admit all of this to myself? Do you see why I struggled so much to stay away?

What would you do if you were in my place?

What part would you decide to let go?

And on top of it all? Damon wanted me to admit my feelings. I knew Stefan wanted this as well, if yesterday was anything to go by. But how could I tell them all of this, without admitting the entire truth?

I stopped moving around the kitchen. Alaric hadn't taken his eyes away from me, even if Beluga was on his lap, being petted by him.

Maybe it was time to tell the Salvatores who I was in reality. Maybe...if they found out they would step back, would realize they never truly felt anything for me. And would make the choice instead of me. It would be easier for me.

Because I knew, I fucking knew they had feelings for me. Now that I saw everything with a clear perspective. I didn't know to what extent it went. But the looks, the touches...those moments of sincerity, of passion … they were enough proof.

"I don't know what to tell you, Adelle." brought me back from my thoughts Alaric, finally realizing that I had told him just what I felt for Damon and Stefan. It had come out of my mouth before I knew it.

And thank God I had shut up before I had spilled anything related to me being from another dimension.

… Or...maybe it wasn't coincidence.

Maybe…

"Adelle...I can't tell you what to do, what to feel, or for who...to..." Ric's voice went through the fog around me. The hunter was serious, even if a little uncomfortable, he still was sincere...and there was no accusation in his tone. Even if he now knew that I had feelings for two men. "I won't lie, it's dangerous to even be near vampires….even more to feel anything for one of them. But both? Stefan and Damon may never hurt you, but love is never easy. There is a big possibility that you three will crash and burn, bringing us all too." I winced, but he didn't stop here. "But if there is anything in this world worth fighting for...it is love." My eyes snapped towards the man who I considered the closest thing to a father here. He had a small uncertain smile, warm brown eyes looking at me, showing nothing but support.

I felt like crying.

"Just know...that even if I suck in giving...love advices...and would prefer to be left in the dark about any details, I will still be on your side no matter what you decide to do, Addie." I nodded mutely. "I might not agree, but if you ever need…a hunter with the skills to shoot a vampire, don't think twice about calling me."

I chocked back a laugh, which encouraged his smile to get bigger, his body to becom less tense. The worry lines on his forehead to disappear.

"So…you don't think I am selfish bitch?" I asked tentatively. Stepping closer, so I could pet my dog as well.

"No." Alaric answered immediately. "You can't control your feelings, Adelle. You can't dictate your heart." he continued.

My eyes watered. I couldn't hold back a sniff and before I knew it, tears were streaming down my cheeks, sobs escaping my lips. I was really crying.

Ric's eyes got big, panic rising in them, as he stood up, putting down the white Samoyed, who barked in distress, nudging my legs in concern, I kept on whimpering. I couldn't hold it, it's just been such a stressful week, and those emotions, all of my problems and the hurt I felt...it was too much. I needed to cry my eyes out, to be held by my father, but he wasn't here, he couldn't cradle me like a little girl and rock me back and forth, till I was okay. And the realization made me sob even harder.

As my vision got blurry, my ears started ringing. Before I could lose it completely, I felt arms around me, pulling me into an awkward embrace by a man who wasn't used to calming down teenage girls. Ric didn't say anything, he didn't promise me anything either, he didn't do anything my father would have done in this situation. But he didn't have to, he wasn't good at soothing, at giving advices, far from it...but I still found myself feeling comfort in his uncertainty...in his awkwardness. I still found strength in him.

Alaric wasn't my father. But he did made me feel safe, he did made me stop crying. He said a stupid joke, which wasn't funny at all and made me snort at how bad it was.

Alaric wasn't my father, but he was just as good as him. He couldn't replace him. He was enough none the less, though.

* * *

After the whole emotional overload, Ric and I agreed to never speak of it again. Ever. Yeah, I agree that it was good to cry a little...okay a lot, about the shitty situation I found myself in but then I decided I was going to deal with it when it came. Like everything else. Now I at least was aware of my own feelings, I accepted the reality and was ready to face it.

Sometime.

But not now.

Yes.

I know.

I am a coward.

But fuck it. It's the way it is.

And yeah, let's be real, even if I wanted to, which I don't, Caroline would not let me have a moment of peace till the freaking forsaken parade was done with. Seriously, in moments like this I wished that I never agreed to send Elena away. Like...hell, the blond would kick Terminator's ass in the mood I found her today. After returning Beluga home, I begrudgingly made my way to school. From the parking lot I could see the head cheerleader screaming at a poor soul, who probably had made the mistake of paining the banners Baker-Miller Pink instead of Brink pink.

Yep.

Don't ask me how the fuck I knew the difference. I am afraid to even think about it.

Care had too much influence on my innocent very innocent...like extremely innocent mind...

Yep.

As I was contemplating whether I should go, save the boy from being eaten or just wait in the car, till my friend was a normal shade of skin tone...and not red, my phone rang.

Quickly looking around, I was afraid of answering, 'cause...you know it could be Stefan...and if I had anything to do with all of this...I would not meet him or his brother alone.

Thank God it wasn't him, but it was worse...it was the brat.

Jeremy never called me. Like...ever. If it wasn't for something that he had found out I had hid from him or to shout in my ear for leaving him out of the loop, the kid never bothered contacting me.

"Sup!" I answered, leaning lower on my seat very fast, as Caroline just turned around...and you know, if she spotted me and saw I wasn't working my ass off for the monster of an event...quite frankly she would kill me.

" _Tyler's uncle is back in town._ " that momentarily grabbed my attention.

"Mason Lockwood?" I asked, clogs turning in my mind.

" _Yeah...just wanted to give you heads up...you know if he turned out to be a werewolf or something._ " I rolled my eyes. Brat.

"Hmm…and what do you want me to do exactly, Jer? Wave doggy snacks in front of the guy and see if he would jump or sit on my command?" I held back a smirk when I heard him groaning on the other side.

" _Adelle..._ "

"Fine. Fine. There is another way to find if he turns in to a furry fella, though." there was a pause.

" _Can't we like...I don't know...leave the guy alone? Why should you always do something about anything?_ "

"Oh...if you don't want me to get in the middle...okay. We leave him alone."

"J _ust like that?... Why don't I believe… ?_ " I interrupted him no longer hiding the smirk.

"And I guess I won't interfere when Damon and Stefan get a sniff of the new arrival...who is part of the family that is way too inclined on turning in feral animals on full moon. I am sure they would have no problem with it...or even better they would pat the guy on the back and show him around...just in case he had forgotten his own hometown." Jeremy was grumbling and groaning at the same time by now. I just had to finish. "And by show him around town I mean the woods...somewhere around the graveyard… so they would not waste their time on moving the body too much!"

" _Okay! Okay! I get it, shit, Adelle! Fine, I understand. What do you want me to do?"_ shouted the kid and I grinned in satisfaction.

"Is Jenna home today?"

" _Yeah, she was thinking of taking the day off work. Why?_ " I didn't missed the suspicion.

"Oh, you know, call her and tell her to prepare the barbeque. We will be using it for lunch today." ignoring the 'what?' from the other side I continued. "Invite Mason and Tyler to join us, don't accept a no for an answer."

" _Why the hell...this is your great plan? Wine and dine the dude till he can't eat anymore and tell us on his own?"_

"Oh! No. You invite the Lockwood boys, I will invite the Salvatore ones and the hunter. It should be interesting! _"_

It will probably come around to bite me in the ass later...bite...ass...you get it? No? Yes? Good for you!

It was getting somehow boring around here for the past week or something. Katherine had finally decided to move her pawn. It was only right to return the favor. And let's be real, I couldn't wait for the dog jokes from the older vampire!

" _This will be a freaking disaster!"_ a shout from y presumed brother brought me out of my happy thoughts and I didn't hold back the eye roll.

"Stop with the whining, Jer. I will be going. See you in few hours!"

" _What!? Wait, Adelle...we are not..._ "

And I hung up.

Heh.

I could only imagine his reaction. Haha! But that aside, I really did invite the brothers and my teacher to the 'party'.

 _'Barbeque this lunch. My house. Be there! - Ad.'_

I wonder if I should add 'woohoo' or is that too bitchy? Because...you know when they all find out who was the main guest...I sincerely doubt anyone would be thrilled by my lack of sharing details…

So … no 'woohoo.'

Shame.

Not waiting for replies I looked up just in time to see two cheer leaders holding back an enraged, red faced, completely thirsty for blood Caroline, who was two steps away from tearing the poor teen's head off.

Ooh! Scary.

Getting out as fast as I could, I ran towards the scene that would become a crime scene in less than a minute if I didn't interfere. Ignoring the very colorful and creative threats my friend was spilling around, I grabbed her and pulled her as far away from where any breathing creature could be found.

Except me, but let's be honest I was too likable for her to chew me whole…

I think.

"Adelle! Let me go! Let me go!" shouted the blond, trashing with all her might. Gosh, she was strong. "Those idiots! Can you imagine! They made grammar mistakes on two of the signs! Ugh! Let me kill him! Just once! Addie! Please!" holding back a chuckle, I let her calm down a bit before I spoke.

"I know, Care, what idiots! I know, not everyone can be as perfect as you, my dear, That's why you are always in charge!" the girl huffed, and after nodding, finally stopped her advances towards the scurrying kid who ran away as soon as possible.

"Yes, you are completely right!" she nodded, and I kept my face as serious as I could, cause I knew that she would smash me senseless into the ground if I didn't take this whole stupid ordeal...seriously.

"Now, now! Calm down, or you would accelerate the process of the appearance of wrinkles." that got me her entire attention, as she gasped and worriedly placed a palm on her forehead.

Snort.

This is Caroline Forbes for you. Part genius, part an air head.

How can you not love her!

"You are right, Ad, but what can I do? The parade is tomorrow, and we are not ready!" Care exclaimed and I stopped myself from answering. Looking more carefully at my close friend, I saw how tired she looked, the stress was really getting to her, and the mistakes everyone was making were not helping her.

My insides clenched.

Yeah, maybe I didn't give two shits about this event, but for Caroline it was important, it was more or less her day, and as the new Miss Mystic Falls she wanted to show everyone that she was capable of managing everything, even if this parade should have been done by the town's council.

Lazy fuckers, leaving the entire work to a freaking teenager. She wasn't a magician!

Ugh.

"How about this?" I proposed. "Why don't I help you correct some of the shit your minions did and in an hour we will take a break." before she could protest I shut her up. "No! They can function without you for a little, and you will be of no help if you don't rest a moment and let off steam. Then when you are calmed down, I will bring you back. And!" I said over her disagreement. "If something happens, everyone has your number!"

Caroline considered my words carefully, seeing as I wasn't backing off. Groaning a bit, after a little more protests, she agreed. Pleased with the deal I made, I helped the blond, correct some of the shit done, and when we were sure that the school would not collapse to the ground in its queen bee's absence, we were off to the grill.

"By the way, where is Bonnie?" I asked, turning left and choosing a park spot for my car.

"Oh...the traitor went to her boyfriend instead of helping me. Bon, is in the cafe where he works." waved me off the blond.

"So...she is with him now?" I asked, a new plan forming in my head.

"Yep...why?" the cheer leader looked me suspiciously. I only grinned.

"Oh...you know...I think it's about time to officially meet this fella..." now she was ginning evilly with me.

"And have a few words...innocent...just to get to know who our precious Bon-Bon is going out with...you know what I mean?" I nodded.

"Exactly." we shared a look, and I sped up past the grill, going towards the welcome sign of Mystic Falls.

"I love you so much right now!" laughed giddily the blond and I winked at her.

We totally didn't high fived each other...

And honestly...we didn't cackle sardonically either…

Scout's honor!

* * *

As we entered the vegan cafe, where Bonnie and I first met her boy toy, we saw them immediately. They were sitting on one of the tables, and from time to time the boy...Sam, would get up and serve something to a new costumer. We were still not seen by the two and Care and I had enough time to observe the interaction between the couple.

They were cute. I admit it. Sammy boy was looking at our witch like she was a precious gem, while my friend shined brightly with the enormous grin she was sporting. Yep, the guy was taking good care of her indeed. I already knew that, as Bon had talked a lot about her boyfriend when we had the time to say more than a few sentences.

"I almost feel bad right now." quipped Caroline as she was assessing the same scene as I was.

The boy was really nice. No lying there.

"The rule is a rule, Caro!" I shrugged not caring that we would scare him in less than few minutes. "If Bonnie had said anything about us, he should have seen it coming sooner or later. And let's be honest, it's our duty as best friends to get some things straight with this fella." that made the blond grin and we winked at each other conspiratorially.

That's when the love birds noticed us. Bonnie's eyes got bigger, as she looked at us confusedly. Sammy boy understood in a second who we were and even if he appeared uncertain he still got up and welcomed us in the cafe.

"Welcome to..." the both of strode past him, wearing smiles just a tad too sweet, that screamed fake. At our complete dismissal, Bonnie narrowed her eyes at us.

"What are you doing here guys?" she asked, not moving from her place. Caroline waved her hand in a casual way and took a seat, just like I in the two free chairs on their table. Leaving the only available space between us.

"Oh! You know! Ad and I decided to take a break and eat something." smiled innocently the blond, acting like Sam hadn't come back, looking even more unsure as to what to do and if he could sit down, now that I was occupying the seat next to his girlfriend.

The witch was glaring at us by now, knowing that the cheerleader was feeding her with crap, but she wasn't going to say anything.

"Yeah? Eat out of town...in this particular cafe? Really? What happened to the Grill?" questioned Bon, as she spared apologetic smiles at her boyfriend that still stood there like a lost puppy.

"Hey! I showed you this place, Bonnie." I finally said. "I was thinking that Care had to come as well. It was just an amazing coincidence that we found you here, right?" I grinned and the future vampire Barbie nodded not trying to hide the sarcastic smirk from her face.

"Exactly!" she exclaimed, channeling her inner airhead, while for the first time looking at the boy. After reassessing him for a long moment, which meant that she looked him over with her judgy eyes, making him stood taller and rigid, she asked. "And who might you be?" ahh, the bitchy voice was coming in to a use today I see!

Man, it was hard to hold back the evil smirk, seeing the poor boy squirm under the infamous Caroline Forbes bitch behavior. She wasn't the queen bee for nothing.

Haha!

"This." stepped in warningly Bonnie, before her boy toy could even make a sound. "This is Sam. My boyfriend. The one I told you a lot about?" I pretended to have no idea what she was meaning, which got me a glare in return. "Sam meet my … soon to be ex best friends if they don't start behaving! Caroline and Adelle."

Said Sam, extended his hand, nervously smiling at us.

"Hi! It's nice to finally meet you, Bonnie has told me a lot about you." Caroline and I shared a look, sparing his hand a brief glance, not even moving to take it. Bonnie almost growled at us, but she stayed silent. For now.

"Tim, I wish I could say the same, but I'm afraid our Bonnie hadn't spoken very much about … boyfriends." said sassy Care. I held back a grin, not meeting Bon's angry laser eyes, as she was probably ready to light us on fire.

Or turn us in to frogs.

"It's Sam!" the witch corrected. We completely ignored her. The boy's hand went down, as he was getting more uneasy by the second.

Good.

"Yeah, yeah, so Tim..." I started.

"Sam, actually." he tried to say, but I spoke over him like I hadn't heard him. Care's lips twitched, she was having a lot of fun, I'm sure.

"Why are you standing up?" I asked. "Sit! Sit down." it wasn't an invitation. More likely it sounded like a command. And the poor fella did, almost immediately. Between me and Care. We purposely left little space, so he would have to bend, turn and constrict any movements or he would bump into us. He had his hands on his lap, looking like he was send to the principal's office.

Or worse.

"Guys..." came the warning from the witch but she was ignored entirely. The cheerleader and I had turned so we were facing the boy, caging him even if he was taller than us.

"So, Tim."

"Uhm, S-Sam..."

"How did you meet Bon Bon?" I waved him off.

"I...I...met her here, you were with her, actually..." he tentatively answered after sparing an uncertain glance at his girlfriend.

"Are you sure? You don't sound sure to me, what do you think Care?" she had been staring at him, making him squirm even more.

"Yeah, he definitely sounds like he isn't certain. Don't look at Bonnie, Tim, she can't help you here...or wait you don't sound positive because you have met other girls like that too, no?" fired the blond, making the boy jump in surprise by the accusation, causing Bonnie to groan loudly.

"W-what? No! I...I am seeing only Bonnie, and, and I know I..."

"Say, Tim..."

"His name is Sam! Don't act like you don't know it, Adelle!" screeched the witch but I just shushed her.

"Tim." I looked at him, provoking, waiting for him to correct me if he had the guts. He didn't let out a peep. Was he getting paler? Oh! We were succeeding in scaring him.

Nice.

"What is the one food you hate... can't stand the most?" I asked, already knowing the answer, as my friend had already told me about it.

After some confusion shown on his face, this time not daring to even look at his girlfriend, he answered us.

"I...I r-really don't like prickles."

Now, Care didn't care to hold back the grin. I winked at her, and then she took her bag in her hands, rummaged through it for a second and like a freaking magician took out a big jar with said food.

Sam chocked and squeaked in astonishment, staring as the blond placed the item soundly on the table.

Bonnie groaned.

"W-what..?"

"Adelle, Caroline! Really?!"

"Here is the deal, Timmy!" grinned the blond. "We are going to ask you a few questions."

"And each time we don't like the answer you will eat one of this yummy delicious prickles you seemed so fond of." I finished for her.

Bang!

Looking at the witch, she had banged her head on the table, hands flying around her. Murmuring something.

Probably a spell.

"I...I...but...I don't like...prickles..." stammered the boy, as the look on his face was freaking priceless.

After today, he would have nightmares from us.

Good.

"Get it? You ready? Let's begin!" I said.

"No! No, Sam, don't listen to them, they are trying to scare you off, you don't have to do this." tried to interrupt us Bonnie, finally realizing what we were doing right now.

Oh! Come on, Bon Bon, from what I knew, the old Adelle, her and Care had done the same thing to Matt, when he started dating Elena. Just like her, Lena and I or my other me, had done to Caroline's few ex-boyfriends!

It was a law!

One of the few fun traditions these people had before I came here.

I was damn sure not gonna miss it!

"I-it's okay, Bonnie." smiled a little Sam, as he tried to look less scared and intimidated then he was really.

"Goody!" I grinned.

"So, Timmy, have you slept with Bonnie?" Caroline asked right away.

The poor fella turned white as a ghost as he started coughing.

Our witch whined sharply, hiding her face in her hands, totally embarrassed.

"No. Stop! Please stop!" she pleaded, but both of us didn't look away from the terrified guy between us.

"I...I...what?" he tried.

"Did you or did you not have sex with our best friend, Tim?" I asked, acting very seriously, even if on the inside I was cackling like a psycho.

"How...why..?" Caroline rolled her eyes.

"Do we need to explain how babies are made, Timmy? You know...when two people lo..."

"Guys!" screeched Bonnie, now as red as tomato, like her boy toy, who looked like he wanted to be swallowed in the ground. "Eat the prickle, Sam!" she order him desperately.

"Bonnie?" Sam asked, looking around himself.

"Eat it! Or help me God!" she waved her finger. "Don't answer them. Just eat it."

I bit my lips, trying, very, very hard not to burst out laughing. Just look at him!

Man! It felt so good to terrorize somebody, it has been a while.

Said boy, after a fight with himself, looked completely defeated. He opened the jar, and with a face of disgust took out a prickle. As slowly as he could...which...

"Hurry up, Tim-Tim, we don't have all day!" I pushed.

He had the guts to glare at me and then gulped down in one go his most hated food in the world.

Care and I shared satisfied glances. Professionally ignoring the murderous look from our friend.

"Now! On to the next one." Care smirked.

"No. That's enough, Caroline, Adelle."

"With how many other girls have you slept with, Tim?" I asked straight forward.

"Oh GOD!" moaned Bonnie, while Care nodded in approval.

"What...I...why would you...Bon..?" stammered the boy, as he looked like he wanted to be anywhere but here right now.

"Please answer the question." pushed the cheerleader.

"It's none of your business! Stop it already!" Bonnie glared at us, completely embarrassed in the name of her boyfriend.

"It is, it is!" I acted seriously, and he believed me, as the moment our attention was back on him, his eyes enlarged and scrambled towards the jar, took out a second prickle and scoffed it down, like he didn't want to barf any second now.

Not sure from what, though. Was it the said yumm yumm prickle? Or was it because of Care and I?

Heh...

As he was chewing the food, my blond friend decided it was the best time to fire the next...probably last questions as well, seeing how the fella had turned sickly blue.

"Do you have some sexually transmitted deceases that Bonnie here should be careful with? Do you wrap it before you use it? Oh, and from one to ten how much do you rate your performance? We do want the best for our best friend, you see."

Chocking.

Banging. Repeatedly.

Sammy boy, was chocking, coughing and wheezing all in the same time, hands flying around, looking so terrified that I was steps away from bursting in uncontrollable laughter.

Bonnie on the other hand, didn't see the funny part of the whole ordeal and was banging her head, over and over again on the surface of the table. Red in the face, eyes big, so embarrassed, that I knew I was going to get it when she would corner me in the future.

But it was so worth it.

So worth it!

Acting like we were not doing anything outrageous, ignoring the curious glances from the patrons in the cafe, we stared expectantly at the boy, who was still having hard time breathing. Or really looking any of us in the eyes.

"Tim..."

Even before I could finish, the witch's boy toy, was already grabbing the jar, bringing it on his lap, and picking more than the three required prickles. Gobbling them down, the boy was truly ready to eat them all, only to avoid any more questions.

"Oh my God...I can't even...I God!" blabbered Bonnie. "Sam! I am so sorry about this, I … they aren't like that all the time...it's just ...they are trying to scare you...it's a stupid tradition we have! But it's never so bad. Please, Sam..." but the fella just kept on eating prickles, like they were his salvation and each time he met mine or Care's amused faces, he would gorge them down, a tad bit faster. "Sam, you...you can stop eating...you can stop eating prickles now."

I snorted.

He only shook his head.

I couldn't hold it back anymore.

Soon after my best friend and I were cackling like hyenas.

Man, this was truly precious!

Quickly grabbing my camera from my bag, I took a few pictures.

One where Bonnie was glaring at me. One where her boy toy was just putting away the rest of the food. Having regained some sense of what he was doing and that we were done with him. And one where the three were in shot, the couple looking very embarrassed and awkward, while Caroline was giving me a thumbs up in the back ground, for the job well done.

And after I found myself tomorrow morning waking up in a levitating bed out in the back yard, my tongue blue and all of my stash of favorite tea turned into sand, it was still fucking worth it!

Caroline wasn't any better, from her message I found out that her make up seems to have 'magically' passed its expiry date.

At least the witch didn't turn us in to frogs.

* * *

When we came back to Mystic Falls, both Caroline and I had been scolded by Bonnie and kicked out of the cafe.

I was sure that once Sam regained a little bit of his pride he would not take it too personally, and that when Bonnie was no longer so embarrassed, she would stop sending us threats in the form of messages.

We were in town just right on time, as Care had some last minute things to check on for tomorrow's parade and because I had been such an amazing distraction, she let me off the hook, allowing me to get the rest of the day off.

As it turned out, when I was back in the Gilbert's house, Jenna, Jeremy and Alaric were already preparing the barbeque.

I didn't know what my supposed brother had said to everyone, but Jenna was in a good mood and even a little bit excited, while my teacher was sending me accusing glances, saying without words that the brat had spilled the beans as of to why we were having this official lunch.

Eh…

He would get over it.

I had almost forgotten that the Gilbert's aunt was a good old friend of Mason, and when she said that it would be awesome to see him, it all came out clear. I didn't ask if she was aware that he could too be a werewolf, as I didn't wish to destroy her mood, so I just watched the three prepare the table.

Caroline had been sending me messages as how the last preparations were going, while Bonnie was giving me very explicit descriptions of how she will get me back for the number we pulled back at the café.

As always I ignored them both.

Soon after Tyler and Mason came in and I had a blast of observing the whole awkward interaction between all of them.

What do I mean?

Well, the role I was playing was of an innocent unsuspecting human girl, ignoring the glances from my brat and the future wolf, thankfully they didn't say anything. Mason didn't look very suspicious, so maybe he wasn't informed of me or what part I had in the supernatural ordeal.

Jer and Tyler were staying aside, as I soon found out that my friend's uncle had a fight with his brother, about something. My best bet was that now when the mayor was still alive, either he had no desire to help Mason...by giving him the moon stone, he most definitely came back for, or both went to the volt, opened it but never found the said magical item.

Do you remember why?

Yep, I had taken it a while ago.

I really hoped that what had happened was the latter option, as it would be fun to watch them scramble around like lost puppies searching for it, scared shitless that if they did not get it, big old scary Katherine would be in a prissy mood.

Hah!

On the other hand, I had fun observing Mason interact with Jenna and Alaric, from afar one could clearly see that Ric was not one bit pleased with the attention my aunt was giving the wolf. My teacher was good at hiding his jealousy, but I still saw right through it. If I didn't know better, which I always did, even though Mason was still a lost puppy for Kat, and Alaric was indeed not a dog, I would call the whole interaction a pissing contest.

Because...you know...one of them is werewolf...and...I...

Ugh.

Where is Damon?

He would sure appreciate the dog jokes!

Grumbling to myself, I was either watching the clock, or listening the two teens next to me, talk lowly about how Tyler still hasn't said a peep about his new knowledge to either Mason or his father. Funny thing was that he actually liked my idea of organizing this lunch, as it gave him the excuse to find out if his uncle was a wolf. He was betting on my vampire friends to...what sniff him? Or … I don't know...but he was on board.

As soon as neither bloodsucker hurt his relative.

Do you know what was his reaction to my incredulous look, which told him clearly that he could only dream of seeing Damon and Stefan behaving..?

The mutt had the decency to laugh and even snort under his breath the words of... 'They will behave if they don't want you to get angry with them.'

The hell?

Was he so stupid to think I had any control over those two?

Well, from the pained but very agreeing face of Jeremy, the brat sure was sharing his opinion.

Tch.

Just as the smell of barbequed meat started to surround us, my veggies somewhere around the house too, the doorbell started ringing.

Did...did they...since when did those brothers ever have manners? And like...not barge in?

Did someone let out a let the cat out of the bag around them, ruining my surprise?

Everyone's attention was on me, as I grinned from ear to ear, literally skipping towards the door. Shit, the coffee was taking over my system, making me more hyper than usual. Which always resulted in bad things.

Goody!

"Hello, Mister Salvatore, Mister Salvatore!" I said loudly, opening entirely the wooden door, meeting the vampires, who momentarily noticed my mood, standing next to each other, looming over me. Suspicion overtaking their faces.

See!? They know me so well!

"Please, come in, welcome to our humble abode! We were just grilling the main course!" I welcomed then, stepping away from the entrance, not letting my eyes look at them for more than necessary. As the glances Damon was giving me, clearly said he was expecting me to act differently after last night, while Stefan had mixed emotions all over his face. Like...uncertainty, worry...and well uhm...hope?

I don't know. And I prefer not to dwell on it.

"Why thank you, Adelle. I must say that this invitation surprised me a little." hummed the older brother, donning a smirk, putting up an easy front, which I saw right through.

"What's the occasion?" asked Stefan, walking in as well, green eyes sweeping over my body, not as quickly as ...well it was acceptable for it to pass as casual.

But I was ignoring this one as well.

"Oh, you know..." I shrugged, leading them in. "An old friend to the family, especially Jenna's, came back to town, so I decided why not...catch up with him and well.." I winked, completely provoking even more suspicion in them. "Introduce him to the new residents in our dear home."

"Adelle..." started cautiously Stefan, but before he could say anything more, we were already in the kitchen, where the rest of the guests were as well.

Mason, was just saying something to my aunt, when he noticed the new comers, his whole body stopped moving for a second, before recovering and acting like he wasn't at all intimidated by the two old vampires, crowding his space. Then his eyes swept over me, questions and accusations swirling around, probably wondering if I knew or not…

It seemed like, Katherine had told him about the Salvatores...certainty not in detail, as she was supposed to be acting like she loved him, but she had missed the memo of informing him of my … involvement in the whole ordeal.

But them again...she could...well she must surely know I was keeping them company, last time the doppelganger was aware of Elena and her relation with the brothers.

But then again...her spies, were gone. John – compelled and no longer in the country, Isobel on our side as her daughter was now a vampire.

Maybe that's why she sent Mason earlier than in the original plot. She has no eyes here, and wants to know what the hell was going on.

I must go pay a visit, which was long time due, to Elena and her biological parent, to see how exactly she had severed the contact with Katherine. Or better yet, what kind of lies did she feed the older vampire, to keep her away for as long as possible.

If I was in her place, I would bullshit Kat to believe that Elena was still human and that she was really having surgeries and staying in a hospital. I would not even try to lie that the Salvatores weren't interested in the doppelganger, and that John was nowhere to be found. I would also say, that I was staying away as to not grab attention, just watching Lena from afar, making sure she is still living and breathing.

Let's hope that now when she has her humanity back, she would still be smart about all of this.

All the signs show that Isobel is indeed keeping the front, or Katherine would have long ago come barging in, killing or well...running in the other direction, as her plan to lure Klaus and win her freedom back...has been long long time ago..destroyed.

By me.

Hah.

"Hello, it's a pleasure to meet you, I'm Mason Lockwood." smiled fake the wolf, stepping closer to me and the brothers who had till now stood behind me, but in second had gone around and then stood in front of me...like they were bodily protecting me.

Oh. So they did catch up quickly.

Lockwood. Probability to be a wolf – big!

The look Damon sent me over his shoulder! Hah…if I didn't know better, I would call it scolding.

"It's nice to meet you, I'm Stefan Salvatore, this is my brother Damon." stepped up, Stef, shaking the were's hand...for quite some time now. Definitely measuring his strength.

"Ah, yes, I have heard a lot about you. Salvatore? One of the founding families?" acted stupid the wolf, smiling easily, totally irritating Damon, who was damn sure ready to snap his neck any second now. The older brother hated to be surprised like that, to not know something.

So I didn't blame him for the accusing glances thrown at me once in a while. Even if he was sporting his impeccable smirk and Stefan acted like the peacemaker. Even if he too, was not one bit pleased.

"You would have to excuse our surprise, we didn't quite get the memo we would be meeting somebody knew." quipped the black haired Salvatore, ignoring the question Mason posed, as well as the glare from Jenna, and the exasperation from Alaric.

Jer and Ty were smart enough to stay out of it.

"No worries." waved of the wolf. "I was surprised as well, but then again, Addie always liked me and Tyler, so I would have been offended if she didn't actually organize this reunion...of sorts." Mason smiled at me, over Stefan's shoulder.

"Oh? Really?" acted curious Damon, but I just could hear the irritation under the whole pretenses. "Such a shame, she never mentioned you."

I was ready to face palm myself, not knowing anything about it. Once again I wished that the Adelle before me would keep a diary so I could know what her relationships with the people around here were exactly.

Jenna, laughed at that, seemingly remembering something, catching all of our attention. The woman was acting very well, for a person pretending to not know what everyone in the room were. Like last time.

"Yes! Oh my God, Addie had the biggest crush on you Mason!" I felt my eyes widening. "She wouldn't leave you alone! It was so cute! You...Oh! You were her first kiss! Do you remember Ad?"

No! I do not!

Oh shit.

Oh fucking...freaking damn SHIT!

What?

How? Really? Shit. Shit.

Alaric whole face paled, watching worriedly the Salvatores, while Mason appeared more amused than ever, Jeremy looked like he had swallowed something nasty and Tyler began to worry about his uncle's safety.

The vampires in the room?

Their reactions were something else entirely.

Both bodies became tense in less than a second. One's hands tightened into fists, while the other one's crossed theirs, twitching in a way that screamed he wished to strangle something.

Shit. Shit!

I lost my voice, 'cause I had quite certainly been as baffled as them. But then before I could even attempt to open my mouth and well...try to...I don't even know what, Stefan had looked back at me, eyes dark, lips pursed, emotions promising something bad, while his orbs swept from my own eyes to my lips, over and over again. Damon had this nasty smirk, which was anything but amused, not meeting my gaze, but staring right at the wolf, who was sensing the dark mood, taking over the room in seconds. That same smirk has been the last thing many had seen before they were killed by him.

Okay so this was going down, faster than I suspected.

Totally pushing back my own freak out of the revelation I raked my brain for ways to fix this.

That's before the vampires shared a look, which you know, I was used to by now, as they communicated silently with each other, and baffled me even more as suddenly they were no longer tense...or ready to spring out and snap necks.

One was sporting an easy welcoming smile, while the other one was no longer smirk-killing, and was just...smirk...smirk-smirking...or something.

My mouth was ready to fall out to the ground when Damon just laughed it off.

"Ah. Look at that, it must have been a funny thing." he waved.

Alaric stared at me, just as shocked as I was by what was happening, his eyes screaming for me to do something, like it was my fault that those two had suddenly became too docile to be even believable.

They were even scarier like that.

Jenna, bless her soul, changed the topic quickly, ushering everyone to take a seat in the dining room.

Yep.

Damon had a thing to say just before that, you see. Looking amused at the wolf, he walked with him towards the table.

"We're indeed eating soon. I hope you haven't filled up on homework."

I heard a chocking behind me, a set of harsh breath intake and a groan. Everyone tried acting oblivious to the meaning behind it. The vampire looked way too pleased with himself. Mason? He grinned, showing a pearly white roll of teeth, which had the subtle implication they could turn sharp very easily. Then he laughed it off.

The fake easiness hanging in the air was fucking suffocating. Normally I would have found it amusing, but my mind was still processing the knowledge that the old Ad had a crush on the wolf...and probably had molested the guy to get a kiss. Her first one.

Huh…

After that, a...normal conversation took over, as Jenna and Mason shared some of their stories with the rest of us, Tyler asking him how he was doing in California, Alaric staying silent for the most part, and Stefan and Damon, talking shit lies about their...'lives' before coming back in Mystic Falls.

Everyone knew they were talking shit.

No one tried to stop them.

From afar though, someone would say we were having an amazingly pleasant lunch. Like we were all friends and not waiting for the other's shoe to drop. Thank fuck that Beluga was outside in the backyard. Poor puppy didn't deserve to be subjected to such a traumatizing experience.

Deciding not to follow the plot form the series, after we have all eaten, I proposed to take a seat in the living room. That's when the... _biting_ started. Somehow I had been seated between the Salvatores, while the rest of the people had taken random places on the other couches.

It began with the simple comment from Damon.

"What do you call a large dog that meditates?" everyone got quiet. Mason was about to say something but he didn't get the chance.

"Oh, that's easy." quipped Stefan, no longer looking like the peacemaker he once was, and more like the freaking Ripper. "It's _aware_ wolf. No?"

Tyler sucked in a breath.

Mason kept on smiling. Even if it wasn't an easy one anymore.

"I heard that the parade tomorrow will be fantastic." Alaric said, looking at me like I was able to make them shut up. Holding back an eye roll I interfered as well.

"Yeah, Caroline has taken over for the past week, she had been making sure everything was perfect." Mason nodded.

"I heard from my brother. The whole school had been participating. It's a shame that I couldn't come earlier, I would have gladly helped." the wolf commented and I nodded, acting like it was easy to not feel crushed by the tension in the room.

"It must have been _ruff_." Piped in again the raven haired man, succeeding in making things even worse, as Jenna was now clenching 'subtly' the arm of her couch, while Ric sent concerned looks at Jeremy who was coughing after chocking on the soda he was just taking a sip off.

Mason on the other hand was observing everyone's reaction, especially Tyler's who didn't even try to act like he had no idea what the brothers were implying. The wolf understood it in less than a second, his body tensing momentarily. No longer faking a smile.

Now Stefan was smirking, yes, smirking.

Shit.

"Don't _terrier_ self up about it, Mason, there are always other ways to help them." his older brother sent him an amused approving look over my head, succeeding in making my teacher grab his head in exasperation, while Tyler stood up from his spot.

His uncle followed.

"I will...I will go and see how Beluga is doing, Jeremy mind coming with me?" announced Jenna, not letting the brat complain and refuse, pulling him quickly out of the room.

I was seating very still, while Stefan and Damon were lounging next to me, one innocently seeping from his glass of drink, while the other looked like he had not done anything at all.

The hunter had long ago understood that Stefan would not be the voice of reason this time around, as the said vampire had been acting too vindictive, too harsh and impulsive then what we were all used to.

All because Jenna had to open her mouth and say that...that thing about...kissing. Ugh. Was he...were they jealous?

"Tyler..." started the wolf, but was interrupted once again by Damon.

"Oh please, let me just refile my drink, before you start with the _dog_ fight." I winced.

In two steps Mason was in front of Damon, who had stood up suddenly, vampire fast as well. Followed closely, like they were in complete sync, by Stefan. The three supernaturals measured each other, the pretense of acting oblivious long forgotten.

"What have you told my nephew." growled the Lockwood, looking very angry, even more so by the way the brothers were acting, one- too calm, and the other – just shrugging unconcerned.

"What you have been hiding from me, apparently." stepped in Tyler, ignoring the hand Alaric extended to try and stop him.

"We will speak later, Tyler, you have no idea what you are talking about." answered Mason, still not looking away from the vampires, very smartly if I say so, as they both seemed fucking ready to snap him in half.

The tension was sizzling around us.

I was the only one still sitting.

"Yeah? How about no!" almost shouted the boy, glaring at his uncle. "You have lied to me all my life, and you are still doing it, so excuse me if I am more ready to take the side of my best friend and the people around her, no matter how big of bastards they are, as they have never lied to me, unlike you!" I sucked in a breath, now that the wolf's attention was on me.

Shit. If it wasn't obvious, he by know knew about my part in this.

He was about to step closer.

I only heard Alaric's warning before the wolf went flying in the opposite direction, hitting the wall hard, falling on his feet. Damon had a vice grip on my hand, pulling me behind him, while his brother, was now chocking the were, his vampire face showing.

"You ever come close to her, and I will kill you." he growled, voice low, menacing, with such promise that I was almost afraid myself, if the shock wasn't taking over my body. "You ever look at her like that again, and I will fucking tear you apart, got it?" his hand around the neck of Ty's uncle got tighter, making the man fight for his every breath.

My eyes moved towards Tyler, who had become pale, worry about his relative visible, but Ric was holding him back.

"Got it?" asked once again Stefan.

"Y-yes! Yes!"

The ex-Ripper let him go, stepping back a little, watching with this unnerving coldness as the wolf slid down the wall, coughing harshly.

"Do you see what they are capable of, Tyler?" spitted Mason, staring at his nephew, who had gone as still as me. "They are monsters, and you are on their side?"

That made me very angry, snapping me from whatever stupor I was in, as I shook of Damon's hand off, daring him to hold me back. Something in my eyes made him let me go, even if his own orbs were hard, promising me that there will be a hell to pay if I didn't stay close to him.

For the first time I decided to listen, as the situation was bad enough, even without my input.

"How about you stop with the accusations, as it's by now a well-known fact that if they are monsters so you are as well." I said, keeping my voice steady. No caring that Mason was now glaring at me. Or that Damon had gotten even tenser.

"I don't know what you are talking about, Adelle, you are a little over your head." he fired back and I didn't missed the lost look taking over Tyler's face, as he stared from me to his uncle and back. Wondering whose side he should be on.

I didn't have the time to feel bad about it.

"Yeah? How about the fact that you are as much of a killer as they are? Hmm? Or is it easier to accuse others but not taking any of the blame yourself." that grabbed his attention.

"How do you know this?" as he tried to stand up, he was quickly pushed down to the ground again, by Stefan who had a look that promised pain and more if the wolf didn't stay where he was.

"Doesn't fucking matter how Adelle knows about it, or how I found out too!" shouted Tyler. "What I care about is that you have lied to me all my life, I have every right to know about this! And you just hid it from me, and when I asked you yesterday you acted like it wasn't my business or that I was crazy!"

"Tyler...I...I was trying to protect you, you don't know what it's like...I never wanted you to get pulled in this..." tried to talk the wolf, but Ty wasn't listening, he was too angry.

"Oh? So what, I would have just been oblivious for the rest of my life? Me, not knowing, put me in more danger then the opposite, Mason! Fucking hell, if it wasn't for Adelle or Jeremy, by now I could have killed someone lost in this rage, not understanding why or what was happening to me! If they hadn't stepped in and helped me find out what I could...be...I would have gone crazy!"

"So that excuses the fact you are buddies with those blood suckers!?" shouted back his uncle, even if now the glare he was sending me, no longer held the same heat.

"At least they don't bullshit me! If Adelle trusts them..."

"No! They are our enemies, Tyler! Wolves and Vampires could not be friends! Never!"

Damon chuckled next to me, eyes feral, grin menacing.

"Well that confirms all of our suspicions, doesn't it, brother?" he asked.

Stefan nodded, face still not betraying anything, the mask of a cold emotionless killer still on.

"Let's…let's calm down and...talk about it..." tried Alaric, but was left ignored.

"So...so...I am really a...I could really become...a werewolf..?"whispered Tyler, eyes big, face pale, like he had been hit and like the world was truly crumbling around him. He finally got confirmation of his biggest fear.

"No. Listen, Ty, it's not that simple, just...just let me explain, let's get out of here and let me explain." pleaded Mason, seeing just as I how...how lost the boy looked now.

"Nah! I don't think so." Damon said, shaking his head mockingly.

"You are not going anywhere before you answer some questions." Stefan finished instead of him, his green eyes on me.

I gulped.

"I will do no such..." started the wolf, but Tyler glared at him.

"You will, you will tell me everything, now and I don't give a shit what you think of the Salvatores, you are starting to talk now, everything, no more lies."

"Tyler..."

"If not, you can forget you ever knew me." oh shit…

The resigned silence from the wolf was enough of an answer.

Damon clapped his hands, Ric looked anything but comfortable, Stefan stepped back walking towards me, taking my hand and pushing me to sit on top of him, as he took a seat on the sofa, eyes not leaving the wolf, who looked disgusted at the sheer prospect of me letting a vampire touch me like this.

"I expected more from you, Adelle."

"Leave the whole thinking part to the more capable ones and start talking instead, before I decide it would be just way easier to tear your limbs one at a time and hear you scream every secret you try holding back? No?" Stefan's low voice took over the room, stunning everyone in to a silence, as no one had ever seen the said vampire act in such feral way.

His hands tightened around my waist. I was now between his legs, my own folded in front of my chest. My hands hugging them for comfort, while Stefan's arms were secure on me.

Damon saluted him with his once again full glass.

"I couldn't have said it better, brother."

Good God…


	16. Chapter 16

Disclaimer

I do not own Vampire Diaries. The O.C. is my only original character.

This story will follow the series to some extend, there will be a lot of changes and you will find a partial O.O.C. here.

It will be rated **[M]** for future chapters and yes it will be a **Menage love story/P** **olygamous relationship** , if you don't like please don't read.

I welcome constructive criticism and if you would like to help me with that, please write me a P.M.

Big thanks to my Beta - Angelique Irene _(_ _AOHAD)_ for correcting this chapter! ^w^

 **[!]** Comments. Follows. Any kind of support is highly appreciated. No kidding, it does give the motivation to update faster!

* * *

Chapter 16

The wolf looked furious. His eyes swept went from me to the Salvatore's then they moved towards my teacher and ended on his nephew. His whole body screamed tension and displeasure. The supernatural creature was ready to spring and fight, even if we were the only two who knew he had no chance of winning against vampires. But then I had to play oblivious. And even if Damon and Stefan feigned nonchalance they both couldn't hide from me that they were too prepared for blood.

"We can talk, alone. Can't you see they are playing with you?" Mason tried to convince Ty, but even while confused, the boy was still not budging, his mind already made up.

While I was sitting on...between...whatever with Stefan, Damon was behind us, holding his damn glass and leaning on the couch. I could feel his presence, and from time to time, his free hand would ghost over my neck and back. Even more surprisingly it would rest on his brother's shoulder each time the vampire would tense after the wolf had made any kind of move.

Damon was in a way, not only protecting me, but was keeping the anxiousness in Stefan at bay, reigning over his sibling's control. For the first fucking time the older vampire was the level headed out of the two.

Hell must be freezing over.

Jeez.

Jenna was smart and fast to get out of the room with Jeremy, probably sensing the impending chaos, so I had two less people to worry about. It was a bit surprising when she didn't pull me out as well, but then again, maybe she wasn't blind and realized that even if she wanted to do that, neither Salvatore would let me out of their sight.

Whether it was because they wanted to look after me on their own, or because they were too angry with my new stunt to let me escape...I didn't know.

Alaric on the other hand had taken his seat back on the sofa, now sporting this grimace while asking himself how he got there and why was he once again in the middle of a supernatural problem. Or maybe it was the grimace of someone who was preparing himself to stop any... future blood shed. 'Cause you know...an unarmed human hunter could definitely overpower two angry vampires and a werewolf. Can you see now why the man had every right to be so displeased? Let's not forget that he clearly saw where I was sitting, as well as taking note of the fact that I would be right in the middle of the cross fire if something went wrong.

Tyler, my poor friend, after confirming just a minute ago that he indeed had supernatural blood running through his veins, was having an existential crisis.

So it was easy to say that the animosity in the room was almost suffocating.

"You try doing that and we will see how far you'll go." quipped Damon, gaining everyone's attention. Mason glared at the raven haired man, before he went back to staring almost pleadingly at the future wolf.

"Tyler...whatever they..."

"No! Stop! I don't care about your opinion, Mason, hate them all you want, I just need answers and you are giving them right now." fired back Ty as he stood straighter, arms folded defensively in front of him while staring down at his uncle. Both were measuring each other up. With a sigh, the older one looked back at the three of us.

"You won't do anything." eyes on Stefan. "Because we all know that I have someone outside of town, who will look for me if something happens and who will just as easily inform the council of the two vampire residents under their noses. You will be ashes before even hissing out with your fangs. Are we clear?" Damon growled lowly and goosebumps appeared on my skin, while Stefan's hands tightened around me. Alaric was the one to answer, though.

"I am sure that the council would be very happy to find out as well, that one of their own member's son and brother are supernatural creatures too. We all know they won't discriminate and go after all of the ones here in this room." Mason's glare snapped towards my teacher for the first time measuring the human as a real threat. "So why don't we all agree to keep it secret and as long as neither party sheds blood first...we could be civil?"

"I didn't come back to cause trouble." finally said the wolf.

"Yada, yada...you don't touch my people, I don't touch your family. Correct?" waved off Damon, smirking.

"Yes." growled out the wolf. "You stay out of my business, I stay out of yours." I didn't miss how his eyes swept over me and I had to place my hand on Stefan's or he would probably have sprang out to tear Ty's uncle to pieces.

"Yeah...no. Let's just say that as long as you answer our questions, I won't do anything. This town is mine, so you can skip the bullshit and tell us why you are here." the older vampire answered immediately, winking at my teacher who let out a groan, probably believing for just a second that a real treaty had been forged…

Ah...such positive naive thinking, Mister Hunter.

"You might be stronger than me, but I am not alone, Salvatore." hissed the wolf.

"Here it is! So you have no super powers when human?" asked Damon, completely ignoring the warning.

"And the part of not being alone? So wolves do have packs?" continued Stefan, speaking for the first time in a while, his voice still low, deep and very displeased. The man in question was ready to deny any answers but it was his nephew who forced him to finally give some explanations.

"Is it true?" Mason looked lost, it was obvious he wanted to have this talk alone with Tyler, but he was finding fast that the quarterback had no intentions of moving.

"Yes." growled in admission the man. He looked more or less defeated. Of course he could just get out of here, and the Salvatores would let him, especially after the revelation he had people who would look for him, but the guy still decided to stay. He did care about my friend. So he wasn't so far gone in Katherine's manipulation.

"Ooh! Interesting! Do tell." Damon added sardonically but was ignored as Mason was only looking at Tyler.

"We heal faster and have more strength than normal humans, but it is nothing compared to when it's full moon."

"What happens then?" asked Tyler, gulping down nervously as we all saw the ashamed looked on his uncle's face.

"We loose control, we can't fight against the wolf inside and...we...he takes over, the transformation is unbearably painful and through the whole night we operate only on instinct. We hunt."

"Hunt?"

"Yes, hunt our natural enemy." his eyes moved towards the brothers. "That one night, we are stronger, faster, deadlier than you, so you better stay away or … not, why don't you come and visit?" he spat.

What a hypocrite. Wasn't he shagging a vampire? Tche.

"But that's not all, is it?" asked Alaric. "If you loose control, it's not only vampires you would go after...it wouldn't matter human or not, you will kill either way." now the wolf had the decency to look away. The sharp intake of breath from his nephew got his attention though. The boy looked stricken. Pale and repulsed.

"Tyler...it's not like that. We...we have no other choice, the animal is stronger. But we can stop it, I chain myself before the moon is up...and most of the time I can not get out, I won't hurt anyone."

"Most of the time?" asked Ty, pain written all over his face as he saw the shame and regret on Mason's face.

"Tyler..."

"How many?" the boy interrupted.

"I … it's not..."

"How many Mason, how many have you killed?" my fingers shook a bit, even in the strong reassuring hold Stefan had them in, it was hard to watch as one of my closest people here found out the harsh truth that was hidden from him.

"Four." whispered the wolf, staring at the floor.

"Psh...amateur." Damon grinned wickedly as he was enjoying way too much the whole interaction. For him and Stefan this number was nothing, not when they have lived for so long...not when big part of this period they didn't have their humanity on.

It should bother me. It should make me want to stay away.

But it didn't.

I am one hell of a messed up girl.

Because I was fucking fine with it.

Stefan was staring at me, Damon was watching me as well from the corner of his eyes, both expecting me to react, to gasp and fling myself away from them. To finally show fear.

But just like from the very beginning I didn't judge them.

And they got their proof once more, as I leaned back closer to the ex-Ripper. Whatever tension they had moments ago, was gone now.

Attention back on the family drama in front of us.

"This...this will happen to me too?" the quarterback asked shaking.

"No!" shook his head the wolf. "No! I won't let it get to that. You don't have to suffer like me, Tyler, I can protect you….I can prevent it."

"I don't want your protection, Mason." fired back the boy. "I want all the information so I can stop it myself!"

A pause, the Lockwoods stared at each other, pushing, fighting, and pulling.

Mason stepped back.

"Okay. Ask."

"Goody! It's time for the fun stuff!" smirked Damon and received glares from everyone in the room. "Iron?"

"Myth." answered surprisingly the uncle, eyes twitching.

"Mind if we test it, though?" quipped the vampire.

"As long as you let me test holy water on you." was his reply.

Ric chocked back a laugh, knowing it would be inappropriate. I didn't care, I laughed out loud.

"Compulsion." spoke Stefan.

"Works just as much as on a witch." answered Mason.

"Your blood. Does it heal like the blood of a vampire?" asked Tyler, but his uncle shook his head negatively.

"Boring. So what...you are more or less human with the exception of turning into a furry bunny chaser every full moon?" Damon chuckled sardonically, having a blast with provoking the wolf. "You are so on the loosing team, buddy."

Mason only smirked.

"Don't underestimate him, Damon. What about this pack?" stepped in Stefan.

"You have a pack? Is it like what they say in the movies?" asked Tyler.

"To some extent. It's easier to live with your own kind, we can protect ourselves, we help each other on full moon." explained the wolf. "We hunt together." that made the vampire who was holding me tense up.

It was a clear warning. If the brothers went after him, his pack will come and say hello.

"How can you die?" questioned the boy and it definitely wasn't appreciated by his uncle, who would much prefer to eat his own hand than speak of his weaknesses.

No other choice buddy.

"Just like humans." he gritted through his teeth. "We do heal faster, but any deadly wound could be life threatening."

"So, if I snapped you neck, per say." grinned the raven man, basking in the glares sent by the wolf and the worry radiating from the quarterback. "You are done. Yes? Ha! Look at that."

Before they would go for each others throats, I stepped in, deciding it was about time to ask the most important question.

"What about your bite?" Mason's attention snapped in my direction immediately.

"What about it?" so he was going to play oblivious. Fine.

"You don't drink blood, but you have canines, don't you? It would be logical to presume that with the numerous flaws and weaknesses compared to the vampires, you werewolves have to possess at least some kind of advantage. You die. You age. You are human most of the time. You have no control in wolf form." the man had stiffened, hands clenched into fists. "What is the thing that...tips the scale over?"

For a moment no one spoke. Tension. Curiosity. Readiness for an attack.

"Adelle asked you a question, Lockwood." growled Stefan.

"Mason..?" pushed in Tyler.

"On full moon, our bite is poisonous." color me surprised! The dude actually admitted it.

"How poisonous?" asked Alaric, glancing from the wolf to the two very still, very scary vampires, who knew deep down where this was going. What the wolf's next words were confirming.

We all had suspicions. Well...they, because I was aware of the truth. But after the researches we did, Lexi's involvement and Isobel's books. Everything till this moment was more or less a known fact. This last piece of information was the only thing left.

"Once bitten, there is no cure, the vampire dies and nothing could prevent it." no one spoke. "It's slow, painful and inevitable."

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For the rest of the day, things were … tense. That was the best way to describe it. Mason freely left the house, Tyler went with him to have another talk without us present.

Alaric helped Jenna and Jeremy with cleaning up after lunch and told them filled them in.

Damon and Stefan left as well. It would have been suspicious, if the looks they gave me didn't promise that it wasn't the last time I would see them today. Maybe they needed time to process the news, have some plan of action...that I would have to burst and stop, and probably go for a drink.

The last option was confirmed when Ric exited not long after, saying something about trying out Damon's bourbon collection at the boarding house. So probably the three were now drinking together, acting all grown up or whatever.

I was left with the mission of informing Bonnie about who was in town. Retelling her the of the events and the 'fun' lunch we all had.

Funny thing was that the witch was the one to give me a detailed 'recap' of how I lost my first kiss to the wolf... who now probably saw me as an enemy. This whole walk down the memory lane made me think what...who else old Adelle had been close to...intimate with in this town. Was she a virgin?

After that I agreed to go with Jeremy to visit Elena and her biological mom. It was my first time meeting this woman, because I had avoided her one way or another.

Don't ask me why exactly...it was just that...I had no interest in her. If I had it my way she would be long gone, but alas she was keeping company to my sister in this dimension. For now. Maybe her involvement would give us another trump card against Kat.

It was the same with Matt, who was a main character in the series, but I would be fine not to say more than two words to him for the rest of my time here.

It was a first going to the lake house too. It wasn't big, but the place had its charm and I could see myself here relaxing and if the weather was good I would swim in the water. Too bad that, for the moment, in the said one-floor building, a vampire I had no particular fondness of, was spelled to not get out of.

The moment we were out of the car a figure swooshed in and before I knew it Elena was hugging the life force out of me. Jeremy had the decency to pull out my camera and take few pictures too.

Brat.

That's my thing!

"Addie, I missed you." said the doppelganger, not letting me go and I decided that it would be more comfortable to...hug her back. Cause you know… I did it out of convenience. Not like I missed her as well, or something like that.

No. No.

Yeah, she was my big sister here and yes I had gotten used to her meddling in my secret business...and yeah I killed her in order to protect her and what not. But I would prefer to be caught dead then to admit it out loud that I would love for her to come back, if only to be forced on listening her share thoughts with me and barge in my room whenever she pleases.

So fine, I hugged her just as hard.

Sue me.

Jeez!

I totally didn't closed my eyes and breathed in her smell either!

Nope!

"How are you, Lena?" I asked, pulling away. As she went greeting her brother I saw Isobel standing in the entrance of the house, not being able to take another step closer. She was observing us and I looked her square in the eyes sending the clear message that I was far from afraid and I didn't give two shits about her opinion.

From what Alaric told me, Elena was getting closer to her mother, so it wouldn't surprise me if this woman thought she had power over the new vampire.

She was in for a rude awakening.

"My control is better, I think I am ready to go back soon and be around other people." the girl answered my question, catching my attention again. We slowly walked towards the other vampire but before Elena even moved to enter, Jeremy followed my lead and sat next to me on the swing on the porch. The other Gilbert looked from us to her mother, who had not stopped staring at me.

Maybe it was because I acted like she wasn't there and had no intention of speaking with her. That must have irked her, especially when she had her emotions back.

"And the training?" asked Jer, making space so his sister could join us.

"I got a grip of it, Isobel had been showing me how to fight and defend myself. Alaric left me some weapons to use as well." shrugged the girl, tentatively looking at us from beneath her lashes.

"That's good to hear." smiled Jeremy encouragingly, while I nodded silently, letting the left side of my lips quirk up a bit.

Seeing our positive reaction, any tension left her body, as Elena understood that we were fine with her and were not afraid. She knew we had her back.

"So...what did I miss?" she grinned, easiness taking over her expression.

"Caroline is a hurricane this past few days, tomorrow is the..."

"Parade...yeah I know, she must be organizing everything." laughed the vampire, finishing my sentence.

"Yeah, and she is driving me crazy. As soon as you come back, you will be helping her, I am out!" we all chuckled at the truth in my words, knowing very well I will hide from any more responsibilities the head cheer leader would bestow me with.

"Fine..." my big sister faked annoyance.

"Mason Lockwood came back in town." Jer told her next and then explained what happened around noon. Isobel was listening very carefully, admitting she had never heard of him before, as she wasn't close with the Lockwoods when she lived here in her human days.

I believed her, Kat had hid a lot from this woman, and I wasn't surprised she didn't tell her about her boy toy. The older vampire had asked few questions, more or less out of curiosity about the nature of werewolves, and the way she did it was by looking at me, like she was expecting me to answer. But I never spoke a word to her, which Jer and Elena soon realized as well and answered everything in my place.

I held back the smirk after noticing how her eyes twitched in displeasure and annoyance.

I don't know how long we stayed there, but maybe it had been a few hours, just talking and making sure that Elena was fine, that she was holding up. At one point she had moved to sit between me and Jeremy, who was now laying his head on her lap, animatedly speaking about how Beluga had grown up, while Elena and I shared amused glances.

The whole...interaction felt natural, I was comfortable with this level of closeness and openness with those two. A feat that I would have never imagined possible if someone had asked me about it when I first came in this world.

Because I would have never believed that I would accept those two idiots as anything but...fake siblings. As a way to keep my lies up. Now? Fucking hell, Elena and Jeremy Gilbert had become a real family to me.

Before, this thought would have made me feel bad, would make me feel like I was betraying my real family for some doubles, but in this moment I realized that a family wasn't always connected by blood and it didn't only include those that I shared the same features with. My family was this two idiots, the Salvatore brothers...Tyler, Bonnie...Caroline and Ric, God, even Jenna!

My insides fluttered at the prospect that I wasn't truly alone, that I had people who cared about me as much as I did for them.

But then...this same realization made it clear as a day, that now I had a lot more to loose.

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Back at home…

Pause.

Since when did I start calling the Gilbert's house my home?

Before, it was painfully obvious that whenever I talked about it I always used the word house, but now? Now it seems like I have unconsciously changed it, like my sub-consciousness had long ago realized what I have just done an hour ago.

Shit. I was truly getting attached to everyone around here, not only to the two insufferable vampires in the boarding house.

Groaning loudly, the sound resonated around the room, as I made my way to the kitchen. When I was so much aggravated I would make myself a big big cup of tea. Tonight it wasn't any different. I was alone, earlier Jenna sent me a message telling me that she would be staying over at Ric's place, while Jeremy was going over to Matt's with Tyler for some guy's night...or whatever.

Happy to have the place to myself, I took the now ready hot drink and went upstairs.

Let me tell you, it was damn fucking luck that I didn't spill said scorching beverage all over myself the moment I stepped in my bedroom and saw that it was in fact not empty but full with the two brothers who have not left my mind the entire day. Yes, you heard correctly not one but both of them.

Cursing a little under my breath, I ignored the amused looks I got from them. One was laying on my bed, while the younger was on my sofa in the corner, my camera in hand, most certainly seeing the photos I took of his brother last time.

They were too damn comfortable, I'm not kidding. Like hell, this was my room and I felt like an outsider sometimes, while those two had the nerve to lounge around it, like they had been doing it all of their life.

I strictly decided to ignore their presence till I had put in a safe distance between myself and the cup of tea. When I was sure I would not get second degree burns in the near future or make a fool out of myself in front of the two men I knew I had feelings for, I acknowledged them.

"To what do I owe this visit?"

Not waiting for response I started removing my make up while tying up my hair in a high pony tail that reached my mid back. In the reflection of the mirror on my vanity I saw how the vampires followed my movements. Even if from a first glance one would decide that they were relaxed, I wasn't fooled at all.

"We need to talk." answered me Stefan, voice steady but still a little bit unsure.

I turned around and regarded them carefully. Letting out a breath, I tried reigning in my frantic heart beat and ignored how good they both looked.

"About what?" I acted stupid, delaying for as long as I could.

"Don't play dumb, Adelle, we all know that you are far from it." Damon rolled his eyes and I would have been flattered if it wasn't for the edge in his tone. The three of us were sitting in the three corners of the room. I was as far away from the brothers as was possible, but even with this distance I felt like they were looming over me.

Nodding quietly I let them lead this conversation as I had no idea how to do this.

"I thought we were over this type of surprises, Addie." leaned in Stefan, hands perched on his knees as he stared at me. "Why did you have to..." he let out a sigh, sparing a glance at his brother. "Why didn't you warn us that Mason Lockwood would be here? Even if you weren't sure that he was a werewolf it was still a risk."

"What my little brother is trying to tell you is that you and those mutts had sheer dumb luck that neither of us killed anyone." stepped in Damon, still laying on my mattress, like he wasn't speaking about murdering someone.

"He is a threat I know..." I tried.

"You know nothing." the raven haired man shut me up, voice low, finally showing the anger he was hiding. "The mutt is capable of harming you, Adelle, you are nothing to him. You heard him, on full moon he could kill us as well. He is a fucking beast and you invited him in your home! You invited us too. What did you expect, Addie? To become best buddies? The only reason that pup is alive is because I don't need a whole pack of furry dogs looking for retaliation!" I sucked in a breath. It's been a while since I have seen the vampire so angry.

"Do you...do you have feelings for him, Ad?" asked Stefan, face stone cold, not showing any kind of emotion.

"What?" my eyes were ready to pop out. "From where did you even get that idea?"

"I am trying to explain to myself why you did what you did today." was the response of the ex-Ripper. Hands clutching my camera. "He said it himself, Mason was your first kiss..."

"No! Stop it!" I stood up, not liking where this was going. "You are wrong. So wrong!" shaking my head, I tried staying calm, unexpectedly those accusations made my heart clench in displeasure. Here I was, doing everything to hide my feelings for these two, protecting them...doing anything to bring them together, and what do I get in return? Accusations of having a stupid crush on a man I saw for the first time today! Marching towards Stefan, I pulled my camera from his hands, placed it soundly on the table next to him and then turned towards him. Glaring down at the vampire I extended my hand, beckoning him to take it.

With no hesitation he did that and let me pull him up. Turning around, I walked to the bed where Damon was observing the whole silent interaction without speaking either. Soon enough I pushed Stefan to sit down and now he was leaning on the bottom half of my bed, while his brother was still perched against the frame.

Fighting the irrational feeling of betrayal, I stood in front of them, not willing to take a seat so I could have some false sense of advantage, being the taller out of the three.

"Jeremy called me this morning and said that Mason was back in town. After finding out that Tyler had the dormant gene of a werewolf I thought it would be best if we found out whether his uncle was one too. From what I gathered Mason was staying for a while and it would have been best to know if he was a threat to us." I spoke, keeping my voice as calm as possible. "So I thought the best and fastest way was to invite him over, you two being there as well and I don't know...provoke him into showing or admitting what he was." my hands flapped around me. "We all know that you have this knack of pushing people till they break and get so mad that they loose common sense." Damon smirked at that. "Yes, I admit, it wasn't the safest or smartest option, but we got what we needed."

"That's not the point, Addie." spoke Damon. "You shouldn't have been there. If something went wrong..." I didn't let him finish.

"Someone would have got hurt. But it didn't happen. If you two cornered Mason alone, a fight would have started. He would be dead, Tyler would hate me, because I would still be on your side even if you killed his only uncle and an enraged pack would come here to search for retaliation." Something in Stefan's eyes changed, they were no longer so hard, and his green orbs became warmer. Maybe it was my admission of my loyalty to them no matter what shit they pulled. "If that was the case, we would have a whole bloody pack of wolves after us, not only after you two, but me as well. And you heard Mason, their bite is deadly."

"We might have not killed him." Stefan said but I only shook my head. I remembered what happened in the series.

"Yeah, you would declare a war to each other, he would spike your drinks with vervain and tattle you to the council. Then the council would go after you, and when you get out you will go and return the favor by...you know, killing him." I rattled the main scenes in the show.

I just hoped I had prevented that from occurring.

"You say it like you can predict the future." Well...no, but I certainly saw it in the form of a TV show, but I could hardly say that.

"No. But it was an option, and I'm not willing to put you in danger if I could prevent it." I fired back.

"You should not protect us, Addie." Stefan said leaning in, his face no longer cold, but showing the same warmness I liked so much. His eyes were regarding me tenderly. "The way I reacted today...is because it's mine...as well as it's Damon's job to look after you. You don't make it easy." Damon snorted.

"He said it in the nicest way possible."

"So can you imagine what it felt like to find out you were steps away from someone who could harm you easily? And he...Mason, he just looked so smug about it, so calm." continued Stefan.

"You can't shelter me from everything. I don't need that. It's because of this protectiveness that I am always dropping this kind of situations on you. If I had warned you, one of you would have taken me away, just like Jenna did with Jeremy." Or how they always did with Elena in the show.

"It will be the fucking smart thing to do, Adelle, you are only human, or do you forget that?" said over me Damon, who looked far from pleased.

"No, I do remember, Damon, but I am not a damsel in distress, I want to be there! So I will be there. This is not one way street, don't you see? Just like you want to protect me, I want to do the same. I don't like hiding things from you or surprising you like this, but I will keep doing it until you understand that I am not going anywhere and that I want to stand next to you, not behind you." I was out of breath. Panting slowly, I didn't look away from either fiery looks the brothers gave me. I was just as stubborn, just as passionate and protective.

So they would better learn, or we will keep on repeating this same argument over and over again.

When neither spoke, I asked.

"Don't you trust me?" before I knew it Damon vampire sped to me, grabbing my shoulders and looming over me. Eyes dark, big, silently screaming the truth.

"You know, you freaking know that I...we do, Adelle."

"Then why? Why won't you let me..." before I could even finish Stefan had moved as well, still sitting but now on the edge of the bed, his knees brushing my legs.

"Because if something happened to you..." his green eyes turned red, veins appearing under them. "The whole world would burn."

My breath hitched.

My eyes enlarged.

I was caught in a trance, in his eyes...the truthfulness in his words. This image he painted in my mind, the blood, the gore, the rage...it should have scared me by how negatively and destructive they would be if I was hurt...or dead.

But the only thing I felt was fucking heart wrenching, mind shattering adoration.

I was sick. I was not a good person. Not after the satisfaction those words brought me.

Shit.

Trying to clear my head and those selfish thoughts, I spoke.

"You shouldn't. Both of you have each other, even if I am not here...Now you are together, you don't have to depend on anyone else." a growl made my eyes snap towards Damon, he was glaring at me, hands still holding mine now a bit tighter.

"Stop pretending!" I flinched back by the force of his voice.

"Damon..." warned Stefan.

"No, Stef, if you are okay with keeping this stupidity going, I am far from willing!" answered the raven haired man. They stared at each other for less than a few seconds, but it must have been enough to come to some kind of agreement. "I have told you before just like Stefan did now, you can't get hurt, Adelle. We won't let it happen. Is it so hard to believe that...I...we care about you?"

"I..."

"Don't you remember what I promised you last night?"

My mouth fell, shit. I felt like a deer caught in the lights and I looked cautiously at Stefan.

What was Damon doing? In front of his brother none the less! I didn't want to be in the middle of a love triangle, I didn't want them to fight...or...I couldn't break them...not like that...not with the way I…

"She really doesn't get it." the fog around me dispersed as I was able to hear again and noticed that Damon had stepped back and was looking at the younger vampire. In my panicked state I must have missed all of that, but I was able to hear what he said.

Get it? What was there to get? Disaster was written all over this situation!

Maybe it was because I still looked like a scared child, that the hard expression on Damon's face turned gentler. He opened his mouth to say something but then shut it closed. He let out a strangled groan and sat next to his brother, perching his arms on his knees while hiding his head in his hands and looking exasperated.

He said something very quietly, that it was almost impossible to hear, but I did.

"I'm steps away from loosing it, Stefan."

Now I was staring at both Salvatores, asking myself what the heck had I missed.

"Adelle...look." started the ex-Ripper, but he too looked at loss for words. "Do you...do you still have...do you still have a crush on Mason?" that made mine and Damon's head snap at the vampire's direction. And while I was looking completely astonished, Damon was angry, like the mere possibility of this was filling him with rage.

I decided it would be good to answer and clear all of this shit before it got out of control.

"No! No. Listen, I was twelve." or at least that's what Bonnie 'reminded me'. "I was spending a lot of time with Tyler and it was inevitable not to see Mason a lot. I..." cringing at that I forced myself to continue. "...was a stupid child, that didn't know what love really felt like, so whatever I felt towards Tyler's uncle it wasn't real, it was superficial and I was just...fooling myself." taking a long breath, I tried not balking at my next words. God, it was embarrassing. "One day, Mason was spending some time with us...and I don't know..." because I really didn't know what old Adelle had been thinking. "I just kissed the guy. I was twelve, okay? It wasn't even a real kiss, I...I oh my God, I just leaned in, pecked his lips and then...ran away."

Yep, I was now officially red faced.

"After that I had been...I was, too embarrassed to even face him. I stopped going over Ty's house and he started coming over. Soon enough Mason left for college and I … got over it."

Thank fuck, it was over and done with. I will never ever retell this shit e-v-e-r again.

Ugh.

Neither spoke for a moment, both regarding me carefully. I was fidgeting, one hand playing with my shirt, while the other was pulling on the ends of my pony tail.

It had been a while since I had been so nervous.

"What about now?" asked Stefan.

"What do you mean?" I didn't understand his question, but by the sheer seriousness and heat I saw in his eyes, I damn freaking knew my answer would be very important.

"Do you know what real love feels like?"

My heart skipped a beat, then it quickened and fluttered so loudly that they might as well have heard it.

"I..." looking away, I felt the weight of both their stares, beckoning me to admit, to say it out loud, and to stop hiding.

"Adelle..." Damon spoke, but I interrupted him looking back at them. Both of them. The message was clear.

"Yes. Yes I do."

It was like the time stopped. Everything around the three of us ceased existing, it didn't matter even if the world was falling apart.

My hands were clenching into fists so hard that my nails were digging in my skin, threatening to cut it open, to make it bleed.

Stefan slowly stood up, one arm placed on his brother's shoulder and as I looked down at the older vampire, his eyes had turned once again red, veins painting his light skin. He was looking at me in such a way that my own skin got goosebumps. Distracted for a moment by the man, I missed the first step the ex-Ripper took towards me.

I snapped from my trance when he made another one, smaller, more cautious.

Panic overtook me as the realization of what I had just admitted downed on me. Shaking my head I stepped back. One hand extending in a stop sign, rendering the vampire in to a halt.

What have I done? What have I fucking done?

"No...no! I didn't … it came out wrong."

"Stop this, Adelle!" growled Damon, who had too stood up now. "Don't you dare take back what you said."

I felt moisture prickling my eyes, my breath was getting uneven.

I had promised myself. I had forbidden myself from admitting anything like that! Why did I do it? What good could it bring, if not only heartache and disappointment?

"Don't you get it?!" I shouted, my lips quivering. Damon was about to come closer, but Stefan stopped him as he saw that if they loomed over me I would break completely. "Don't you see how shallow and selfish what I said was?" my voice wasn't getting quieter, if anything it was becoming more and more frantic. I had long ago lost any sense of shutting up. "I can't do this. I can't just force you to accept it and be okay with me...with me having feelings for..." I chocked. "For both of you."

Tears were now streaming down my cheeks. I let them fall freely, because I was too occupied stopping my hands from shaking so hard.

Both of their faces were unreadable. At my admission for a second I saw clear shock and astonishment, but now there was so much more that it was impossible to read them.

"Why?" Stefan asked, voice deep, scratchy, like he haven't spoken in days.

"Why is it so bad?" continued Damon in the same tone.

"Why both of us?"

I felt like someone had slapped me. Recoiling back, I wanted to look away, anywhere but them. But I couldn't, I couldn't escape the penetrating gazes of the two men who had turned my world upside down, rendering me completely at their mercy with the way they regarded me now, like they were seeing me all the way.

Even behind the lies and deception.

So I answered. Deciding that for once I should tell them what they wanted to know.

Even if the results would most probably destroy me.

"Because I'm selfish. I am a fucking bad person that was stupid enough not to notice what was happening before it was too late. Because one moment you two were Stefan and Damon and the next you were... _you,_ the men who had become the most important people in my life." hugging myself I continued. "I know how it sounds, I know and I feel awful about it. After everything Katherine did to you, you were just starting to reconnect again...But I couldn't stop it. At first...it started when I felt safe with one of you, then both. Then I was comfortable enough with you to...to share part of myself, to be myself around you. Soon after, I noticed how I craved your attention...Stefan's gentle smiles, Damon, your infuriating jackass smirks. It was a big tell, when I knew I would do anything to keep you protected and to make you close once again." shaking I took a deep breath, all at once feeling nervous and free as it was damn good to be admitting all of this. "I know...I know what you are capable of, what you have done, but it never mattered, I didn't want you to change. I was fine with your Ripper side, Stefan, and with your tendencies to kill with no care, Damon. I fell for those sides of you just as much as for the good ones."

I paused, looking at them, the vampires had become still as statues. The shock overtaking any other emotion. And maybe it was this silence from them that made me feel more confident to keep on talking.

"I hardly have any morals, my integrity is as screwed as it gets, I lack common sense and my survival instincts are none existent. Damon...Stefan. I keep many secrets from you, I have things to tell you, but I am too scared of what will happen when I do. Because what I have done, what I have hidden away from you, it's too big, and it's too serious and irreversible to be corrected. That's why admitting all of this is so bad, Damon. And...and let's not forget about the screaming in red lights fact, that I don't only have feelings for one of you, but for both!"

Pursing my lips, I stared at the wall on my left which was the one full with pictures.

"I have promised myself to never confess what I did now. I decided that I would be happy and content enough to have you as my friends, as my family and the people I could go to whenever I need. I was fine with it, because I could never live with myself if I became the reason that teared you apart again."

Flashes of Elena, breaking Damon's heart while being with Stefan and the betrayal of the younger brother felt, when she chose Damon, took over my mind. The brothers couldn't look at each other, Stefan never wanted to speak to Damon again. The gap had become an abyss between them.

I could never be that woman. The one that got between brothers. Never.

"Now you know why." I spoke again. "Just like you know why it would be for the best that we all forget what I said. I can't compel you so I could only ask you to...to act like nothing happened."

There was a deep chuckle, which made me look back at the Salvatores. It was Damon, who was angrier than ever.

"Yeah? Forget it and act like you just didn't admit of having feelings for me and Stefan?" cynicism obvious in his voice.

I was about to answer when he continued.

"Let me think about it...No." the moment he said it, Damon strode in two steps to me, my eyes getting big as his hand grabbed my face and before I could blink, he had leaned down and captured my lips.

The gasp that escaped me, unconsciously let my mouth part open. A low growl left the vampire as his lips followed the movement too, tongue darting over mine, sweeping over my lips and feeling me.

All at once I was hit with euphoria, the kiss was mind blowing because of the way it drowned me in so many emotions. Damon kissed me with passion, fervor and determination. It was consuming and overpowering any other senses I had. The desperation conveyed how much the vampire longed to do this. All of this came crashing in me, surrounding me with nothing else but how right it was, how fucking much I had wanted the same thing.

So I didn't stop my hand from grabbing his neck, I didn't protest when his snaked around my waist and pulled me closer, or when his tongue pushed through my lips and invaded my mouth again. I was soon responding back with the same passion like he did. Battling with him for dominance but in the end letting him win and explore.

I was so lost in all of it, that I didn't notice the way my fingers had threaded through his jet black hair and pulled, eliciting a groan from the vampire. The sound made my knees weak and I couldn't hold back the moan from escaping me, not feeling one bit embarrassed I pulled again, more forcefully.

Damon growled and I flushed, getting addicted to the sound.

Then I felt something. Something new, that wasn't from the vampire I was kissing. It was a presence behind me which I should have realized was Stefan more quickly, but Damon's lips were the biggest distraction I would ever encounter.

What should I do? Could I do anything? Did I want to? I was lost.

Until I wasn't anymore. As cold fingers ghosted over my neck, pushing away my white hair.

Then I was gasping, mind going completely blank as … as lips were kissing my throat, tongue tasting my skin and teeth biting once, twice...over my pulse point. The moan that was torn from me resonated in the room. It succeeded in separating me from Damon, who was breathing harshly, just like I was panting, both of us staring at one another, gazes heated, full with affection and passion, that walked over the line of obsession.

Another bite and I had been brought forcefully back to reality, where Stefan was behind me, front touching my back, arms perched just over Damon's on my waist. The shock of him doing that while I was kissing his brother was the biggest one I have ever felt. Before my brain could start protesting and screaming at me, Stefan's hand came up to my face, slowly holding it as he turned it around. I was now looking at him, eyes big, mouth open, still being able to taste the other vampire who had not said anything but not moved away from me, either.

Neither seemed to mind what the other was doing.

It was the opposite. Stefan regarded me with such raw passion that I was left speechless. There was so much want, love and desire in his dark green eyes. I could never even dare to dream of being on the receiving end of this affection. Then his eyes moved down, sweeping over my lips and I involuntary licked them.

Veins appeared on his skin, fangs shown from his mouth as he let out the most terrifying and in the same time arousing growl I have heard from him.

"Stefan..." there was a warning in Damon's voice, but it was tampered down by desire and thirst.

The younger brother looked at him, over my shoulder, but I was still staring at Stefan's fangs, even if my front was facing the older Salvatore. A second later his face was back to normal and his attention back on me.

His eyes searched mine just for a moment before he leaned down and gently, more so then Damon, kissed me.

Was I fucking dreaming? Was this really happening?

Not only did I confess...to some extent what I felt for both these men, but now I was kissing Stefan, just after I had done the same with Damon.

If desire and want were not fogging my brain, maybe I would be more shocked or confused by how fine they appeared to be with this.

But now, I was only able to enjoy it. To take, take and take as much as I could.

To answer his gentleness with more from me and when it got heated to return with double the fervor.

Stefan's lips were a tad bit fuller then his brother's, they were just as smooth and addicting though. In contrast to the way Damon had kissed me, Stefan took his time. He didn't forced his way into my mouth, as at first he was content with only kissing my lips over and over again. He was teasing me. When his tongue had darted out and moved over the seam of my lips, I had parted them in invitation but he pulled back, continuing on torturing me with anticipation. It was maddening. Completely overpowering. So I didn't stop myself from huffing in annoyance. Ignoring the amused smile that took over him, I bit his lower lip in retaliation.

That whipped away the smirk and got me a groan which was led by a tug of my hair, bringing me closer and making me crane my neck up. This gained him better access, and I would have protested when he pulled away completely if it wasn't for the way he looked down at me.

My heart skipped a beat and my breath hitched.

Why?

Because Stefan looked at me like I was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen, like I was the most precious thing he had ever encountered. All I saw was love, affection and pure acceptance.

If he wasn't holding me and if Damon's hands were still not on my waist I would have fallen on the floor.

The whole thing happened in just a few seconds, but it felt like eternity.

Then he was kissing me again, with more passion then last time, no more gentle, but still attentive. He no longer played around, just like his brother he pushed past my lips and explored my mouth like his life depended on tasting me.

For God sake...I was comparing the two. I had the chance and the experience to compare how Damon Salvatore and Stefan Salvatore kissed me.

In the space of less them ten minutes.

I should feel ashamed. Scared. Confused. Or bothered.

I should stop.

I should...but I didn't.

I just took, took and took.

When we finally parted, I tried regulating my breathing. My mind had turned it to chaotic shouts in the distance I could barely hear as my heart was beating too loud. It was the only thing I could hear. My entire attention was on the last traces of the kiss.

My lips were tingling.

Goosebumps were scattered all over my skin.

A pleasurable hum traveled my body.

Blinking once, twice, I turned my head towards Damon who was still in front of me, just as close as before. Stefan had closed his eyes and had leaned in, perching his forehead on my shoulder, humming lowly, kissing languidly my neck. I felt pure bliss.

And maybe it was because of how docile this made me feel that I wasn't shocked by how pleased the older Salvatore was just by looking at me.

His eyes were still dark, full with desire but there was this tenderness he hid away when we were kissing. Even if the primary emotion I saw was indeed passion, Damon let me in deeper, he allowed me to notice the well hidden hope and happiness, both of which I would have missed if the vampire wasn't so open right now, if he wasn't so relaxed.

He leaned in staring at me and then he looked down at my no doubt bruised from so much kissing lips, all red and plump. His orbs traveled towards his brother, who when I looked down, had opened his green eyes and was regarding us both.

Face just as open as his brother's, content written all over it.

I was truly astonished when while Damon was still staring at him he swept his eyes to mine for a moment and kissed me just a little … like a peck and then gazed back at Stefan.

I was rendered completely still. Watching the whole thing unfold. Waiting for at least one of them to protest, to get angry and feel betrayed.

What I got in return was the opposite.

Stefan smiled a little, just the corners lifting up. It was sincere. And then he leaned in more, moving his face even closer to my neck. Breath ghosting over my skin and hands squeezing me once in...in a way that felt reassuring.

Damon? Damon was watching me now, eyes searching my face for something. Before I could even order my brain to start fucking functioning again and say something, the vampire came closer.

This time he didn't kiss me, he bypassed my lips and moved his to hover over my ear. His hands had left my waist sometime a while ago, but I had been too distracted to notice. Now I felt them holding my own, his fingers not shying from threading through mine.

"Please don't panic." he whispered. I bit my lower lip, which captured his attention as his gaze followed the action. "Let's leave the biting for another time, or I'm not sure if I'll be able to stop when I kiss you again, sweet Adelle."

A low chuckle rumbled from behind me.

Then reality hit me like nothing else.

"Hey, hey, Addie. Calm down." Damon chanted now holding my face, eyes penetrating mine as I was having a hard time breathing, my mind replaying over and over again what just happened. Stefan was hugging me from behind, murmuring calming words. "Everything is okay. We are okay. You didn't do anything bad, Adelle." continued Damon. Repeating it over and over, till it was the only thing I could hear. I believed it, the look on his face told me how truthful the vampire was.

Slowly I nodded.

Then again.

And again.

Not long after I was able to breathe normally.

"Why did you...Oh my God...I just...I just kissed you...both of you..."

"We know." Stefan spoke. "We were both here, you know?" I know, I fucking know it wasn't the time for it, but I couldn't contain the choke of a laugh that escaped me.

Damon smirked in return and I could feel the smile gracing Stefan's lips against the skin on my neck.

"Why do you look so fine with this?" I asked, stilling myself expecting some kind of negative reaction, like they would just now realize what have we done.

"Didn't I tell you before, Addie?" said Damon, stepping back a little, giving me some space. "You just needed to stop hiding and I would give you whatever you wanted."

How could he say that?

I shook my head in disbelieve.

Yes, I remember his words, but how could he still mean them when he finally knew what was the thing I wanted?

Stefan pulled away as well and in place of his big frame my back was swept with cold air. Turning towards the younger man I was prepared for rejection. The only thing I got was his extended hand with which he took my own and kissed its knuckles, eyes not moving from mine, showing me he didn't have any resentment or anger.

He wasn't denying his brother's words.

Did they talk about this?

"It's late let's sleep and we will talk tomorrow." Stefan said and all I could do was nod, agreeing with him.

I needed to think, I needed to analyze and I did it best while dreaming.

Like on autopilot I went to my bathroom, changed in my pj's, brushed my teeth and on my way out I bypassed the now cold tea. Expecting the bedroom to be empty I was surprised by the two vampires laying on both sides of my bed.

It was like before, when I had spent an entire week in the boarding house, each night changing beds from the one in Damon's room to Stefan's, and falling asleep with the two of them on either side of me.

Feeling protected, peaceful, not dreaming of the nightmares and problems that plagued me daily.

Fitting perfectly in their arms.

The smart thing was to talk, to discuss what happened between the three of us, to ask for an explanation and … to seek answers.

It was the responsible thing to do.

But when was I ever responsible?

Silently I made my way towards them, not missing the way both brothers ate me up, eyes roaming all over my body stopping on the exposed parts of my skin, in the shorts and t-shirt I was going to sleep in.

It made me feel strangely confident. Empowered by the heat in their eyes I didn't look away, I stared right back.

They made such an enticing and fucking sinful picture in front of me that I wished I had my camera with me. Said device was near, but I had no desire to look away even for a second, not when I had only two more steps and I would be laying between them.

Crawling over Damon's body...maybe more sensually then I had planned for, I tucked myself beneath the blanket Stefan had lifted for me.

Before I could even react to the realization that Damon was naked from the exception of his boxers and that Stefan was wearing just them and a singlet, the Salvatore's were around me in a second.

Facing Stefan, he tucked me in his chest, one hand on my head threading through my hair, while the other was around my mid-section.

Damon was behind me, molding his exposed flesh against mine, hand holding my own, leg slipping between mines and head resting just below my neck. He pushed the fabric lower and slowly almost lazily prepped the skin with kisses.

This incorporated with Stefan's steady heart beat against my ear and I was soon falling asleep.

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As the human girl slowly started to slip away, two sets of eyes regarded her silently. One's blue, the other's green, it didn't matter that they were both holding the girl they loved, that she had kissed them both and had feelings for the two.

What was truly important for the brothers was that they were finally able to get closer to the sleeping girl.

They were able to go past her defenses and she had admitted how she felt.

Adelle had been correct, the Salvatores knew that she was keeping secrets, it was easy to see that as those men were the only ones who were able to read the white haired girl better than anyone else.

They noticed her habit of biting her lip when she was uncertain, or playing with her fingers when she was nervous. They saw how her face would brighten whenever she smiled sincere, or the way when she was faking it for the sake of the others, said brightness didn't reach her eyes. Stefan and Damon knew that whenever Adelle came up with something devious the corner of her eyes would crinkle and her voice would get just a tiny bit higher. The brothers noticed how her body would straighten and she would stand taller whenever the human girl expected a fight, they noticed how her mind flew way ahead of her words, planning, scheming, over thinking.

It was a real accomplishment to render her speechless. And they had succeeded twice in a day, twice in less than half an hour.

By finally tasting her.

As they laid there, surrounding Addie with their presence, relishing in her warm body that was molding to perfection around them, they could almost savor her blood, sense her enticing smell that was purely Adelle. Which they could notice all around the room and their house.

The Grill.

The school.

Her car.

It was enchanting. It was calling for them. Pulling them in, even if she pushed away. It was maddening.

But they never even considered stepping back.

The thought never even crossed their minds.

It's been a while, since the first time both Stefan and Damon realized they loved the same girl. Instead of feeling like they were experiencing a destructive deja vu, instead of feeling betrayed and alienated from each other, they felt even closer. Against any odds that made them stronger, establishing even more the bond they had fought for repairing.

At first it was awkward, neither knew how to react or what to do. It was unthinkable to fight each other for a woman, not now, not like before, but it was a well-known fact midst the two that Adelle Gilbert wasn't any woman. She wasn't rare, she was one of a kind.

Maybe her uniqueness, acceptance and knack for forcing them to be brothers nonstop, was the reason why the knowledge of them both loving her didn't feel like a threat or the beginning of the end.

They watched as the girl that made their worlds revolve around her skip around looking for trouble, causing big part of it and pulling people left and right in her shenanigans. But after a while, time spent in ignoring the revelation the brothers decided that enough was enough.

They needed to talk.

Funny thing was that it was Damon who had proposed it. The normally guarded vampire, would till the end of his life blame it on the influence of his sibling for the way he suddenly felt no shame in wanting to discuss...their...feelings.

Ask him to do the same thing few months back and he would have snapped your neck.

Now, he had changed, because of Stefan and Adelle, even if both were fine with the way he was, even if both accepted him completely.

The Salvatores had sat in their parlor, each nursing a glass of their preferred drink, speaking about the past, about the human days of their life.

"I am in love with Adelle, Damon." Stefan was the first to admit it out loud. Damon had regarded him for a long time, taking a sip from his bourbon.

"So it seems that we are on the same page, brother."

"I...we can't let what happened with Katherine repeat itself with Addie."

"I have no plans of doing this as well, Stefan."

"Then...how...what can we…?" the younger vampire shook his head.

"Don't play oblivious, brother, we both know that Adelle feels something too. Does she realizes it and whether it's for one or both, that I can't be sure. But I see that there is _something_ and it's not one sided."

"I know." sighed in admittance the light brown man. "I just...I don't want to lose you, Damon."

"Neither do I, Stefan." smiled a little the said vampire, showing how truthful his words were.

Then, that same night they had made a pact. They had agreed that whatever happened, in the end of it all they would still be together. It wasn't so hard for Damon to admit that he loved his brother. Once they had reconnected, the long nights spent talking in this same exact room, hunting and just relearning each other, had made him unable to deny that he had become closer with his brother. Maybe just as much as before Katherine had destroyed everything. But not quite like it, because they were different, no more innocent and unaware of the evil in the world as they both were part of the said darkness.

The difference was that they didn't hide it from one other, all that there was to be known was said some time or another. Damon trusted his brother, just like Stefan knew that they had no more secrets between them.

Even the darkest ones.

They knew everything.

So this time around, the bond they shared was stronger, more durable and truer then it could have ever been. This trust was maybe the main reason they were able to talk so calmly about loving the same woman. It hadn't been a surprise that they did, as Adelle was the one thing that brought them together, that showed them what it was really to love somebody and how it felt to be accepted entirely. Not judged even for the worst things you have done.

That's why they made this pact.

One way or the other, sooner or later, they would find out what Adelle felt for them. If she had feelings for just one, that would be okay, the other would step back, he would still love her, as it slowly became clear that no matter what Adelle Gilbert will be the love of their life, but the said brother would not interfere. He would still be there, he would still be around her, soaking in what made Adelle so much ... Adelle. He would not leave and he would be content in being her friend, because even that was enough when it came to this mischievous girl.

They would both stay by her side in whichever way she wanted them, protecting her, being there for her, being part of her life.

The second part of the deal, of this agreement was mostly pushed by Damon, because Stefan was too negative to let himself wish for it. They had promised that if Addie had feelings and wanted both, they would give it to her. The Salvatores were no strangers in sharing lovers, through the years, in the brief moments when they talked to each other, they had nights bedding the same women. So adding to this fact that they have lived through a lot of decades, had experienced a lot of things... it was clear as a day that neither were anywhere close to prudes. But this was Adelle, and whatever past relation they had could not even step on the little finger as comparison to this human. It could never be only sex or only about physical pleasure. Adelle had tucked herself too deeply under their skin in order for this to be so shallow.

But both knew, that girl had so much love in her. If they dared dreaming, this same love would be more than enough for the two. It would be no less consuming and explosive if they both had her.

Maybe...scratch that, certainly it would be even better.

Neither Stefan or Damon were shy about admitting this, they both confessed to one another that they didn't mind being three in this relationship. The brothers loved each other, yes in platonic way, but they still did. They had gone through a lot, good and bad, so they strangely didn't feel any jealousy when it came to Addie. Not only that, the possibility of this option actually becoming a reality was confirmed by the acceptance and the lack of any negativity when one of them was touching her or spending alone time with her. What more? It was arousing.

It was fucking addicting to listen when Damon had talked about Adelle sitting on his lap, breathing hard and moaning, while taking pictures of his brother, looking so wanton. Pleading to be ravished. That night when Damon had come back and had retold Stefan what he had done, what he had almost done, it made Stefan loose control. Just the mere image made his fangs elongate. His whole being was screaming to take his brother, for them to go back and finish what has been started. What she had started earlier in school.

Yesterday night the Salvatores had received their proof that they would have no problem in sharing her.

The only thing was finding out if Adelle had anything against having both of them.

Because yes, the human girl was a lot to take in, her want for control, her secrets and shenanigans, they were more than happy to take it on. But...if...she wanted both, if she got them would she be able to deal? Stefan and Damon were the definitions of people with a ton of baggage from their pasts. What they have done with or without humanity… sometimes it's too much even for themselves. What about a teenage girl?

But then they had remembered the numerous times when Adelle would show an astonishing power of will and character. She had proved over and over her acceptance, her lack of judgment and readiness to forgive. All of it, and it still didn't make her a pushover. Far from it, she was ready to beat the sense in their tick heads. Just remembering the days they spent in the tomb...how suicidally protective she was over _their_ well-being...

All of this was the proof they needed.

When... _If_ the second possibility of them three actually getting together become reality, Adelle was the only person who would handle all of it in strides.

That night, when they had made those promises to one another, it had shown one more thing to the two vampires. Stefan was selfish to share her with his brother and Damon was selfless to the extent where he would let her go if that's what she wanted.

Who knew they could influence each other so much?

And here they were, in her bed, not long ago both sharing a kiss with her. What was even more unbelievable was that Adelle had admitted she had feelings for Stefan and Damon. While she told them that, the brothers were too stunned to react in any way that wasn't complete silence. It has been too good to be true. Maybe what both had been secretly hoping for was actually happening. But even in their shocked states, neither missed how tortured the human girl was. How much she resented herself for putting them in this situation.

She had even compared herself with Katherine.

That's what made them both shook the stupor out of their system. As anger...no, rage of the sheer possibility that Adelle could even for a second think she had anything in common with that bitch was making them see red.

While she talked it became obvious that even after her admittance of her feelings, the three of them had a lot work to do in order to make this dream achievable.

First, Stefan and Damon had to make Adelle believe that what she felt wasn't bad, it was actually the best thing that could happen. They needed her to see that. Then the brothers had to show her that this could work, that the three of them were far from conventional or stereotypical, that they were all open and okay with plunging in a relationship that was anything but normal.

But if someone could make it possible it was them. Two vampires, and one unique girl.

All of her doubts, they would erase them slowly but surely.

Stefan looked from the sleeping beauty, who had moved even closer to him, making him smile and searched his brother's eyes. When they looked at each other a silent acceptance traveled through them.

They will make it work.

It would be a lot of trials full with mistakes, fights and possessiveness, because even if the two had no problem sharing her...the prospect of Adelle with anyone else brought the worst monsters in them. But they would make it.

Now, Stefan was as sure as Damon, who had been certain from the moment they made this pact.

The chemistry was mind blowing, it felt so right to have her in his hands, to kiss her, to feel her, to touch her...to watch as Damon did the same. Just remembering how his older brother had made her moan, stirred his lower region awake. Stefan had to stop his mind or he would have a little problem and even if he was unsurprisingly at ease around Damon, after almost taking Adelle together tonight, he still preferred not to stand up walking towards the bathroom with a hard on. Thank you.

Damon on the other hand had reign in his desire to keep on exploring Addie's body a while ago. Now he was content with holding her hand and kissing, mapping the back of her neck, secretly leaving one or two hickeys.

It's because he was one hell of a possessive bastard and those marks would show to everyone that saw them... that Adelle Gilbert was off limits.

The satisfaction this brought him overruled the certainty which told him he would get one good yelling from the sleeping girl when she finds out.

He didn't care, though, as long as her attention was on him, he would be fine. Damon was a sexual creature, till now he would have bedded at least some of Addie's classmates. But now this thought didn't even register in him. He was happy just kissing her and holding her. Sappy, yes, but true. And he would wait as long as he had to, even more now when he already had a taste. His brother was thinking loudly and Damon was always good at reading him like an open book, the older man was just as well aware that tonight was only the beginning.

Even if Damon wished for nothing more than to call Adelle his, he still could not do that. Not before they were all on the same page, not before Addie was sure that she wanted this, with him and his brother. And most of all, not before she had told them her secrets.

Normally Damon would never pry like this. Hah. Okay, he would...with force and blood. But when it came to the human in his hands he would never make her to tell him the truth. He was one of those people that preferred keeping things to himself, he understood her well, because she was the same... But this time he was greedy, he had shared himself, his entire self with this woman, maybe not everything but he was on his way of doing that. And he wanted the same in return. Just the mere possibility of not knowing entirely what made Adelle...Adelle...brought uneasiness in him. The vampire didn't trust anyone. And here he was, trusting. Not one, but two people. With his life...with his heart. Even after Katherine.

It was the truth and he would use it as an excuse too if he needed a reason to keep on digging in this human's mind. But this want wasn't entirely selfish, funny he was well aware mind you, but he was worried. Whatever Addie wasn't telling them was taking its toll on her. She hid it well...from everyone who wasn't him or Stefan, but they saw it clearly. The girl that stole his heart was afraid, was always lost in her thoughts, like she wasn't even there with them, like she was in her own little world...and when she would come back...she would always be a second too late to hide her sadness.

So Damon needed to know, he needed to be part of it and whatever she longed for, he would give it to her. And Stefan...Damon had no doubt in himself that his brother would help him with it.

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When I woke up it was to the sound of running water and the ringing of my phone. Stirring awake, I was mid-stretch when memories of what happened last night came back to me. Fully awake, I felt strangely calm. I have no words to describe why, but I didn't feel any sense of dread or panic. The ball was in the Salvatores, I was stupid and daring enough to admit what I did, and now it was their turn to respond.

I decided that for the first time I would let someone else dictate how this would go, I would not control it. In the end I had only few options really, if things turned for the worst and the two started to act like they did with Elena and Katherine, I would...I would let them go, completely, I would pull away and stop this immediately. Whatever they decided as long as in the end of it they were still brothers and didn't hate each other, I would accept it.

They deserved happiness. With or without me in the picture.

If one stepped back...I wasn't sure how I would react. Loving them both...was not easy and...like I have said over and over again if I didn't have both, I won't have either of them. Selfish...but after last night...I wasn't so sure if it was unachievable.

With the lack of things to plan and scheming to do I felt no longer troubled. It's been a while since I let someone dictate something so important in my life...but I wasn't afraid, on the contrary, I trusted those two vampires. I trusted that they would do what was best for them and not repeat the mistakes from the series. I would let them prove themselves to each other and to me.

Or...I was just still too damn euphoric from last night's...two...oh my...two make out sessions.

Yep...it's probably that.

My phone rang again and that forced me to stop pretending I was sleeping and open my eyes. Maybe I have been too deep in my own mind that I didn't notice at first the presence laying next to me but now I did. The first thing I saw was Stefan, who was turned towards me, hand placed on my waist and looking down at me. He was still undressed like last night, but he didn't seem bothered by it...or how bad I must look like right now. My hair was surely a mess, pj's all over the place...and don't make me start on the morning breath.

Normally I didn't give a flying fuck about it, but now..? Now I freaked out, sue me, but I didn't want this man to see me in such a bad state.

Maybe the Salvatore read my mind, because he was smiling down at me amused even if a little bit uncertain. I wasn't deterred by the sinful creature in my bed and was preparing a dash for it, but the moment I moved, my shirt rode higher my body, exposing the skin on my waist...just under Stefan's fingers. The second his hands touched my flesh I stilled completely.

The panic disappeared.

Any worry was no more there.

All I saw was Stefan, all I felt was his skin on mine...it was electrifying.

And of course my traitorous heart skipped a beat. The vampire's green orbs swept over my face and I wasn't uncomfortable anymore, what was even more shocking was that I was silently preying that he would shorten the distance between us.

"Good morning." he spoke, his smile being replaced by this shy half quirk in the corner of his lips. It was the sexiest and most endearing thing I have ever seen.

"Morning." I said back, voice still scratchy from sleep.

The trance we were in was broken when my phone beeped once again. The vampire looked exasperated as he turned around a little, extending the hand that wasn't touching me and took from the night stand said device.

"It has been going off for some time now." he said and gave it to me.

Taking my phone I was shocked to find out that it was almost twelve o'clock. How have I slept for so long? I hardly could do more than six hours and now…?

"We all woke up late." explained the vampire and I nodded distracted by both looking at the missed calls and texts and his hand that was moving up and down my side. Maybe he was trying to be comforting, but this gesture was doing everything but calming me down, as I was hardly keeping my heart from leaping through my rib cage.

 _'Where are you? Caroline needs help with her dress. - Bonnie'_

 _'Hello! GAAH! WOMAN! You were supposed to be at my house at ten thirty! - Caroline.'_

 _'Jeez, just answer your fucking phone Ad, Caroline will hunt me down if you don't. - Brat.'_

 _'Ric and I will meet you at town around noon! - Jenna'_

And more...a lot more from an angry blond and even angrier Jeremy.

Cringing I called the head cheerleader as she was the one with the biggest probability of killing me for real out of all of them. The brat loved me too much.

" _Finally! Where are you? Oh my GOD, Addie, I will kill you! How could you bail on me like that? I had to call Matt to help me and imagine how awkward that was...we broke up...sort of...just! Gosh! Bonnie was at least answering her phone!_ " I winced at the angry greeting.

"Care..."

" _Don't get me started on the freaking morons who almost destroyed one of the floats! I had to stay up for hours till we fixed it and you weren't answering then either!_ "

"I didn't hear…." she interrupted me again.

" _Then why do you have a freaking phone, Addie!? Thank Bonnie and her toy Tim or whatever that came and helped or you would be dead by now, missy! Oh and be glad that I look smokin' in this Victorian gown or you would have been in so much trouble!_ " letting out a silent thank you to the ceiling, I ignored the amused look on Stefan's face as he was able to hear every word from the big scolding I was getting at the moment.

"I'm so sorry Care, I didn't mean to do that, and I really didn't hear my phone. I would never do this on purpose!"

" _Yeah...yeah, I know that. So did something happen?_ "

"No. I..."looking at the vampire for a second, I continued. "I just woke up."

" _Wow? Seriously? You sleep like the old people, more_ _t_ _han_ _six hours is impossible!_ " I nodded agreeing with her, even if she couldn't see me.

"Yeah...miracles do happen."

" _Okay, Okay, whatever. Just be here in twenty minutes and all is forgiven."_

"Center or school?"

" _School, duh! We are starting from there and I need you to assist with all of the pageant girls before we g_ _o,_ _Elena isn't here_ _so_ _we have to rearrange all of our places!_ " before she could get frantic all over again I agreed and quickly ended the call.

"Do you need a ride?" Stefan asked snapping my attention back on him. Even when I had stood up in a sitting position he was still laying down, his hand now moved on my thigh, just pressing there, making me feel all tingly.

Tch.

"No. I will be driving Jeremy later and I will be meeting with..." I paused, looking away from him. "I will go see Sheila." the confusion took place all over his face. Before he could ask I stood up, not wanting to lie to him. Digging quickly through my closet, I was thankful he let me go and didn't follow me. I picked up a pale pink strappy dress that floated around above my knees. I took my black high heeled booths and my black leather jacket. Edgy but still a bit formal...for this shitty event.

I decided to put more effort than my normal fitted jeans and dark tops… I didn't want Caroline to strangle me. Eyeliner, chapstick and mascara were next. After returning from Lena's bathroom, as I found out Damon was unashamedly using mine...for over twenty minutes, I had done my make up too, aware that Stefan hadn't moved from his place on the bed, following me with his eyes...just looking.

Appearing both relaxed but uncertain as well.

When done I just fluffed my hair, leaving it down and stepping away from my vanity. Turning around I was met with a half naked Stefan, smiling a little.

"I wanted to make us breakfast..." his head tilt on one side. "Or...lunch..."

"Brunch." I blurted and then held back the cringe as I knew this word wasn't created till 2014...2015? The vampire looked amused at my response and didn't question it so I breathed out a sigh in dodging this bullet.

"Yes...something like that. But I suppose you are in a hurry?" he continued and I couldn't hold the smile that took over me, as the gorgeous man looked both fucking amazing and almost shy, like he didn't know if he was overstepping something. And...let's be real, a man cooking? An Italian man cooking? For me?

Be glad I wasn't a puddle on the floor.

Shaking my head, now grinning, he return the gesture with easier smile.

"Next time." I said, before even thinking it over and what it was implying. I was about to take it back...but then I realized that I did mean it, that I did want a next time.

That's why I didn't pull away when the ex-Ripper leaned in, my breath just hitched in anticipation. The last second he bypassed my lips and kissed my cheek.

"You look amazing."

The little fucker!

Blushing like a school girl...which I was, I stopped myself from pulling him down again and taking the kiss I wanted. But then I reminded myself that I would do nothing and I would let them decide how to take what I had said last night and what occurred after.

"Thank you."

"I'll see you later, then." nodding dumbly I watched as the vampire stepped back, not succeeding in hiding completely the amusement in his eyes.

Trying not to react, I took a breath and on my way out I grabbed the still full cup with cold tea and shouted over the noise of the running water.

"You better get out soon, Damon, or help me God if you use all the hot water in the freaking house!" not waiting for a response I ran down the stairs, leaving the cup in the sink and grabbing an energy bar for later. Finding my keys and making sure that I had my camera, I was just about to open the front door when wind whooshed around me and wet Damon stood in front of me. He was a picture to be seen. Water was dripping from his hair, traveling down his naked torso, licking his damn abs and ending on the freaking only cloth he was wearing – a towel.

So...it was inevitable to stop the groan that left me.

Even worse. The second sexy sucker in my house had the decency to look smug. Bastard!

"Just let me get out of this house, for God sake!" oops...did I say that out loud? Wincing because of my own stupidity and the lack of brain when one of the Salvatores was half naked in my presence, I wanted to bitch slap the smirk out of his face.

"Well you are free to leave whenever you please...it's your home, sweet Adelle. Though...it would be a whole another thing if we were in the boarding house. Did my brother tell you look gorgeous? Well you do. But I would have preferred it a lot more if instead of your jacket you had my leather one."

Before I could snark back, Damon stepped closer, knowing full well that if I didn't want to wet my clothes I would have to stay still. He just like his damn brother bypassed my lips. But the raven haired man in front of me didn't even kiss me. No, he leaned in enough so his hand could touch my hair, push it away and peered down at what was the now exposed back side of my neck.

"Good." he looked satisfied. "They are still here, just as visible." and then he shortened the space between us and kissed said skin.

Shock overtook me. Stepping back, I ran toward the nearest mirror a few feet away from the entrance where we stood. Pulling down my jacket, pushing back my white locks and turning a little my body... I saw them clearly.

Two big ass hickeys were painted on my neck, gaping at anyone who would look more carefully in between my hair and from the wind outside...that would happen a lot.

I screamed!

As I was about to shout his ass off, Damon was already walking up the stairs.

"See you tonight, Addie!"

Thinking over the possibilities of how to kill him slowly, I was about to follow him, but then my eyes noticed the clock on the wall and I knew that I was already late. Groaning, I angrily stepped past the front door, murmuring under my breath about the blood suckers up in my room, as I stomped down towards my car.

Fuckers! Bloody blood sucking bloody fuckers!

I was very angry, okay!?

So ignore the smile on my face, please.

Thank you.


	17. Chapter 17

Disclaimer

I do not own Vampire Diaries. The O.C. is my only original character.

This story will follow the series to some extend, there will be a lot of changes and you will find a partial O.O.C. here.

It will be rated **[M]** for future chapters and yes it will be a **Menage love story/P** **olygamous relationship** , if you don't like please don't read.

I welcome constructive criticism and if you would like to help me with that, please write me a P.M.

Big thanks to my Beta - Angelique Irene _(_ _AOHAD)_ for correcting this chapter! ^w^

 **[!]** Comments. Follows. Any kind of support is highly appreciated. No kidding, it does give the motivation to update faster!

* * *

Chapter 17

"So tell me again, why am I here?" asked Tyler looking all miffed out.

A little story time would be good, no?

So let's go rewind two hours. You follow me? Good.

Now, imagine this. After getting the hell away from my own freaking house, hardly able to breath and blushing like there is no tomorrow, my self-worth was being questioned.

You know?

Like hell! I'm the one making people uncomfortable and all that jazz. Ask Jeremy … or Ric for that matter, those two were the ones being on the receiving end of my pranks. So it's not hard to guess that after the one Damon pulled on me…

Cough.

 _Hickeys._

Cough.

And before that Stefan being all dazzling and perfect... I needed to feel in control!

So the first thing I did when I got to the parade was to find Tyler, grab him like a sack of potatoes...even if he denies it his entire life...and do some retaliation.

Somehow I had avoided Caroline for the time being and Jeremy was God knows where...which probably means he is hooking up with his sweet girlfriend while Beluga is with them and the poor soul is forced to bear witness to this shameful adultery.

Yuck.

It was funny too how the quarterback was whining the whole time while I led him away from a group of girls, even if he was twice my size and could easily run for the hills. But that's the power of besties...you know you are screwed but you still participate.

At first I was thinking that the best way to get the frustration out and the freaking sexual … whatever… was to play some of the games around.

Sadly nothing was satisfying.

 _Gone fishing._

"You fuckers!"

"Ad...please leave the poor fish alone!"

"Ma'am...W-what are you doing? Ma'am!"

"For Christ's sake! Put the taser down!"

 _Balloon burst._

"Die! Die!"

"Adelle from where the fuck did you get those rocks?"

"Miss, stop! This is not appropriate! Use the darts! The darts!"

 _Lucky ducky._

"Did you just pull a glue from you bag?"

"Is that...girl! What are you doing to the pool! Step away!"

"Shut up! Tyler jump in! Jump in, now! And get that mother fucker! Look at him he is laughing at me! Why you yellow Satan!"

 _Shooting gallery._

"No! No! Don't even think about it, Addie! _"_

"Don't worry young man, your friend won't hurt herself, those guns are safe... _Ouch! Oh! Ouch!_ S-stop! _"_

"He is not the target, Ad! ...W-whah...don't point that thing at me! _"_

…

Do you see what I mean?

Nothing helped...really. In every game I saw the faces of the two infuriating Salvatores, cackling at me and being all God like sexy!

I didn't know what I wanted more. To smash their faces in a cake laced with so much vervain that it will smack them silly, or jump them…

Oh, the struggle.

At some point Tyler had had enough of me endangering his and everyone's safety and had dragged me as far away from anything pointy...and hard enough to do damage. He bought me some candy.

 _Cotton candy._

Like...seriously...the dude was making it too easy for me. Before he could make good on his threat to sit on me in order to make sure that I won't sabotage any more games for the rest of the people, I had plunked a generous amount of said...sticky and sweet substance in his hair.

"Adelle!"

Knowing when was best to retreat I ran as fast as I … okay… I did run...but not fast. I was too busy laughing my ass off and taking pictures.

Ty didn't have to worry, some of the copies would be sent to his house in the next few days...as well as the school newspaper.

No one would ever again dare to accuse me of not contributing to said magazine.

My giddy mood didn't live for long as I had just made a turn to go past the main street when one very angry, red faced and wearing big yellow dress cheerleader had me in her clutches.

The next hour I was forced to spend photographing every single moment of Caroline Forbes and her waving at people, talking none stop and flaunting her gorgeousness and Miss Mystic Fall's crown all around town.

Then I had to document the parade itself, with her and the rest of the pageant girls being on top of the biggest float I have ever seen.

It was her moment...and I saw this same moment as the first step the girl took towards her goal of taking over the fucking world.

Jeez. She was scary even when she was smiling prettily while biting my head off for being late and distracted.

Good thing that Bonnie had to endure it as well...

Ha!

When our dear Mayor stepped on the stage and did his speech I was ready to explode.

Taking my chance to escape, as Care was too busy and Bonnie was looking for her boy toy, I ran the opposite direction from the crowd.

I was about to leave the main square and go search for either Jenna or Ric and whine about how my so called friends abused me and my Luca a.k.a my camera, when my path was jammed by the none other Mason Lockwood.

So here is the deal...I liked this guy. Yes, he was annoying and sickly sniffing after 500 years old bitch and he had the nerve to be my first kiss...but I still liked him.

Sometimes.

In the series Damon killed him before he could take his shirt off...twice...or something and Jer-Jer was part of it. Yes, that's how they caught Kitty Kat, but this time around I was planning on keeping him.

He was pleasant on the eye. Which was always good.

The Salvatores didn't like him. One more point in his favor as well.

He had an entire pack on his side. Check.

….

Oh.

Oh! And he was Ty's uncle...so that was, well, that was important too, I guess.

The scale was tipping on saving his ass and even if I was the only one that knew it, I still found him highly annoying. Or at least annoying to me. Just like now, where he was looming over me, arms folded in front of his chest, muscles bulging making him even bigger. He had a scowl on him face, eyes glaring at me, not letting me past him.

The fucker.

"Tyler is somewhere near the stage if you are looking for him." I said, holding back the need to roll my eyes as the hunk thought he was intimidating me. Pshh. He had nothing on Jenna, especially when she was set on having those discussions in which we talked _feelings and parents._ Using me, Elena and Jeremy as a way to experiment with her psychology degree.

The Lockwood was a puppy compared to her.

Get it? Puppy? 'Cause...he is a werewolf? Yes? Good!

"I actually wanted to talk to you." he answered me and I noticed how the man was keeping a careful distance. Was this because of me associating with vampires or because he knew what was good for him...I couldn't say.

Letting out a sigh I nodded and motioned for him to follow me.

Surprisingly he did. And soon after, we were walking side by side. Half an arm away from each other, looking like the best of friends for anyone who looked at our direction.

"So?"

"Where are we going?" he asked.

"We are hunting." I shrugged, ignoring the note of irritation in his eyes at the direct dig towards his kind. "For either my buddy who has a hobby of drinking when it's still bright outside and sharpening his wooden stakes. Or our second option is your ex...something, a.k.a my aunt, also known as the only sane resident in this town who has the sadistic stick of making every breathing creature her psychological experiment. I feel generous today, so I will let you decide."

Oh!

Did I just see a small quirk of his lips?

"I would go for Saltzman." smart guy, I would choose the deadly hunter instead of the sappy option too.

"The Grill it is!" strolling ahead, like I wasn't in the presence of a man who I should be considering an enemy, I was actually comfortable. And let's be real, imagine the reaction of Damon and Stefan when they found out about it. If they could they would each pop the veins on their foreheads.

Heh.

"I want you to stay away from Tyler." okay...so I like this man less and less each time he opened his mouth.

"Not happening." I fired back, not even looking at my right to see his reaction, as I waved at some group of teenagers from school.

"I'm not asking, Adelle, if you truly cared for him you would keep your distance." I didn't comment and he continued. "Your relationship with those...with the Salvatores I won't question it, because sooner or later you will find out that nothing good would come out of it, but I don't want you to pull my nephew in this." skipping over the hint of my inevitable death, I answered him calmly.

"Tyler is old enough to decide who he should be seen around with. If he wants to be buddies with vampires, good. If he wishes to follow blindly a man who has lied to him all of his life and is still doing it, then that's his choice as well."

"I did it to protect him!" almost shouted the wolf but kept himself in check, because there were people all over town.

"Yeah...ignorance of what you are and the dangers surrounding you from the moment you were born...we have two different definitions of what safety means, Mason."

"Oh, so you sleeping with two blood sucking killers is better?" I barely held back the comment about who he was doing it with a.k.a the Bitch extraordinaire of a doppelganger.

Or...you know… mention that we were not in fact sleeping together...yeah.

"You are just PMS-ing because Tyler doesn't trust you and as of this moment is on my side. It sucks right?" take that you love-sick puppy!

"Adelle." he stopped abruptly, probably having enough of me ignoring him and not taking seriously his oh-so-serious talk. He grabbed my hand when we were just across the Grill. Now I was facing him, holding in the need to step back as he was glaring at me. I didn't like it when he invaded my space...even if his face was pretty. I was very protective of my personal bubble. Thank you very much. "Our kind and your friend's kind can't be anything. We are mortal enemies! Don't you get that! Tyler isn't safe anywhere near those monsters."

If he didn't lower his voice down and step back any moment now I would whack him with my camera.

And here I was planning on saving his sorry ass from inevitable death. The nerve. My wrist was going to bruise with the force he was holding me.

"Let go of me, Mason." I said.

"Do they have something on you, Adelle? Are they threatening you? Why are you with them? Don't you know what they are capable of?" he shook me a little, like I was some kid who was misbehaving.

My patience was running thin.

"Are you that stupid?" he continued. "You and everyone that you love will end up dead. Jenna. Jeremy. Elena!"

That did it.

This fucker.

Opening the flash of my camera, before the guy had any time to react, I placed it in front of his face. _Click._ The flash went off blinding him right in the eyes, making him recoil back from me.

After finally getting some space, I didn't wait for him to get over the momentary blindness as I hit the hand that was holding me with the same device. With all the strength I had. He yelled in surprise but I didn't waste my time and did the same attack but smacking him right on the head.

Silently I apologized to my poor Luca for using him for such shameful thing.

Mason was holding his head, no doubt feeling the pain, as I was not only pretty strong but my camera was very solid as well.

It was my turn to invade his space not caring that maybe there were witnesses to my assault towards the mayor's brother. I glared right at him, fuming at the nerve he had for talking to me like that when he had no idea what I knew, who I was and what I could do. Yes he was taller, stronger and way faster, but I was determined.

Grabbing his chin, I pushed him down so we were face to face. I was probably able to do it not because he was scared of me but because he didn't expect it.

"Now you will listen to me, you mutt." I hissed, narrowing my eyes as to make a point, ignoring the fact that if he truly wanted to, Mason could push me back easily. "I don't give a fuck what you think of me, but don't you dare for a second accuse me of putting my family and the people I care about in danger. Elena, Jeremy and Jenna know the entire truth, they are well aware of what is going on and they trust me that I know what I'm doing. If I thought Damon or Stefan were to hurt them I would not be where I am right now. Yes I freaking know what they have done, just like I know that they can tear you apart in less than a second. My family knows it, Tyler knows it but they are still standing next to me. Or better yet, they are still standing against you. How does it feel, Mason? Hm? Being rejected by your own blood for a vampire?" He snarled at my face, I smirked in return, the distance between us nothing but mere inches. "There is a reason why they trust me and not you, wolf, I haven't kept something so important that it would endanger them. Every decision I have made was for the good of my family. So you coming here, preaching shit to my face, thinking you know everything is not going to change anything. You don't hear reason, you are blinded and one day you will realize that. When that day comes I will fucking slap you across the face. Why? Because one day you will be betrayed by your own dear people and you will be saved by the ones you call monsters now...or better yet, you will be saved by me. The stupid human girl you think is over her head and is nothing but trouble for Tyler who will end up dead. When that moment comes, remember here and now, because you won't have a shoulder to cry on."

I paused, relishing in the confusion and astonishment in his eyes. In how rigid his body was, how slack his jaw was too.

Bet he didn't see where that came from, bet ya the old Adelle didn't have the guts.

"Keep your end of the deal, don't attack Damon or Stefan, stop lying to Tyler and stop trying to control him. And fucking open your shitty eyes before it's too late and start thinking with your head. Or you will lose everything. We are not the enemy, Mason."

Now calm I took a deep breath and let him go while stepping back. I had said what I wanted and even more then I intended but the frustration of that morning piled up until I couldn't hold it in and he was just in luck to be on the receiving end of my anger.

And let's not forget that he forced my hand...or should I say – camera.

Hah.

"Is there a problem?" came a familiar voice from behind me. Spinning around I was met with the sight of Jeremy and Lucy. The poor girl looked very confused while her boyfriend was glaring daggers at the werewolf.

Oh look at him! All protective over his big sis! So cute!

Not frustrated anymore, I grinned at my brother and skipped over to the couple. Still ignoring the older Lockwood, I made my way in between the teens, threaded my hands with theirs, and pushing them towards the Grill.

"Nope. Not at all. We just had a little chat. Nothing interesting, Jer-Jer. Now come! Let's find Ric before he raids the stash in the bar!"

There were some protests, questions and glares but in the end we left the unmoving supernatural gaping at out retreating backs as we dashed across the street and waltzed in the diner.

"Ah! Ricky!" I waved at the history teacher who was sitting on one of the bar stools. "Ric! Hello! Hi!"

Was he ignoring me?

I pulled the brats towards the hunter. On the way catching the attention of some of the patrons.

"Ricky?" whispered Lucy to Jeremy while she tried to keep up with me.

I barely payed them attention as I was too busy with my favorite buddy slash father figure in this dimension. But I think I heard his response being something like...

A snort.

Shaking head.

Groan.

"Don't ask."

* * *

"Are you sure about this, Adelle?" asked me Sheila, who regarded me carefully, like she was searching for a lie or hesitation.

"No." I answered her, knowing it was best to say the truth. This woman was one hell of a scary grandma.

"Then we should not continue." but I shook my head vehemently refusing to give up because I was terrified.

Why?

It was simple. We were now standing in front of the old house where the spirits and the power of a hundred witches were linked to.

You remember the time when I convinced the Bennett witch to help me connect with some of the dead? So I could find my answers to how the freaking hell I found myself in a TV show? Yes? Good, because we were doing this right now.

That's why we were facing this freaking old house, looking all spooky even without the knowledge of it being more or less the meet and greet point for numerous vengeful and prissy witches. Like hell, the show made it look like it was nothing. In real life, now that I had a good look at the thing, it made me feel chills. If I didn't know better, I would say that on top of the building there was a big ass sign in neon lights saying 'Stay away!'

Just remembering how Damon had his ass kicked by those women made me shudder. And he wasn't planning on talking with them. So...you see my struggle and why Sheila was so reluctant to do it?

She wasn't scared for herself, she was scared for me, because if she did it, there was a chance those spirits would not be pleased and would not only not tell me what I wanted to know, but they could pretty much eff me up for good.

Like Grams said.

'There will be repercussions.'

But I was desperate. I had to know so I was willing to risk it all. I will pay whatever price they wanted in return for disturbing them...for disturbing the balance. But I just needed answers.

"We came all the way here, Sheila. We are going in, please." I told her and after a mini stare down with the rigid witch, we walked right through the door.

I didn't know what to expect.

Okay...I had a few ideas in my head….the main one was that the moment I stepped past the threshold I would be attacked...experience a seizure...but none of this happened.

Yes it was freakishly quiet. You could see the dust in the air and the floor creaked with each step we took, just like in every horror movie ever, but that was all. I felt no pain...no one tried to kill me.

Ignoring Sheila's amused face, who was observing me the whole time, I followed her in one of the rooms.

Yes, even if at first glance I saw nothing, I still felt the density of the air around us. I know it sounds strange, but it was almost suffocating. Like you knew there was something on your chest, something heavy, pressing down to the point you had to take deep long breaths...something...something like power.

Yes.

Power.

If you could feel it. If I could sense it. It was this right now, right here in the air, in the middle of the spookiest house ever.

Add to this fact the prickling on the back of your neck, like someone was watching you...from every single corner of the room...and you are getting the gist of what it was to be here.

It was the most accurate way to describe how much I wanted to get the hell away as fast as possible.

Trust me, if you were in my place you would get what I meant.

The only thing keeping me from skipping out of town for good was the prospect of knowledge. Of knowing the truth.

So I set my jaw, fisted my hands, squared my shoulders and faced the music like a big girl.

Mom would be proud. And after that she would skin me alive for getting myself in such a suicidal situation.

"There is still time to go back, Adelle. I'm sure I can find a way to help you...with whatever you are looking for." tried Sheila.

"No." was my curt reply, not daring to say more or my voice would break from how freaked out I was right now.

And we were only getting started.

"Very well." resigned the woman, let out a sigh as she was sure I was stupid enough to do this. "Sit in front of me and give me your hands."

When I looked more carefully, the Bennett had placed some candles on the floor. I could smell herbs as well and even if I was curious I kept quiet. In the middle of all this mumbo-jumbo we were facing each other, my eyes were darting all over the place.

Twenty minutes ago I was still annoying the shit out of Ric, I was still making fun of the lovey-dovey couple in the Grill. I had fun. We had lunch, you could hear the music and the parade going full blast outside the diner.

Then I ditched them with the excuse of going to the bathroom.

And now here I was seconds away from having a chat with a hundred dead...and I mean _dead_ witches.

This was my freaking life.

And it was still so bright outside the windows. Don't those kind of ju-ju stuff happen at night? Hollywood had it all wrong!

"You are only human, Adelle." spoke Sheila. "I will do the spell, but it might not work. Worse...if I succeeded, I can't tell you where you will go, how long you will be there and...and whether or not you will come back. You will be on your own." when I didn't answer she continued. "I hope it's worth it."

Then she grabbed my hands, chants floated around us as the flames of the candles moved, lifted and danced around us. The smell of the herbs was almost unbearable.

My heart felt like it would burst right out of my ribcage.

I wanted to close my eyes but I could only stare in astonishment when Bonnie's Grams took out a knife from behind her, slashed her hand and then stabbed mine as well.

I would have yelled from the sudden pain.

I would have cried when she linked our palms in a grip that was just as tight as the tightness in my heart.

I would have cursed. And cursed. And cursed some more.

But as soon as her blood and mine touched one other, as soon as the wounds were pressed together…

Everything stopped existing.

* * *

Across the town a boy, or better yet a young man marched through the mass of people. He ignored the laughter, the music and games and everyone who tried to talk with him.

The only thing he saw was the scene a few yards away from him.

His uncle and his father, to be more precise.

He couldn't hear them, not only was he too far away, but there was too much noise. It angered him. It made him feel frustrated.

He was fucking Tyler Lockwood, no one dared making a fool out of him. No one was that stupid or they had learned their lesson.

But seeing his relatives talking to each other, he sure as hell felt betrayed.

Again.

And again.

They were yelling at each other. His uncle was glaring at his father, who in return was sneering at Mason. Both men were steps away from pummeling each other and Tyler didn't know who would win.

Of course, the other people around them didn't see what the boy saw clear as a day. For the rest of the town, those two were having a friendly discussion. But Tyler knew better. He couldn't miss the rigidness in both of their bodies, the fists and the cold eyes. He had seen this picture a lot.

Better yet, he had been a witness to it his entire life and even more so this past few days since his uncle had returned.

What made him so angry wasn't their spat.

No, he was used to it.

It was because he didn't know why they were at each other throats.

The general public would never admit it, but they all thought Tyler wasn't very smart. He begged to differ, he would say that he acted like a fool so he could be left alone and get away with most of his bullshit.

In reality he was far from an idiot.

Adelle would never come near him if it wasn't true.

So even if his father and uncle tried to hide it from his mother, they couldn't lie to him. He knew that something was going on. Something bad. He had proof too.

Let's not forget for a moment the whole thing where those two had been keeping his true nature secret his entire life.

Tyler was angry enough as it is.

Let's talk about how Mason and his father had been shouting at each other from the moment his uncle showed up. Yes, it wasn't a secret that the brothers didn't have the best relationship, but it had never been so bad.

Add to that the fact that they had been secretly searching the house. They pulled numerous excuses out of their asses when his mum asked, but Tyler saw right through them. They had lost something. Something so important that it made both of those big, strong and temperamental men look scared.

Yes.

Fucking scared.

Tyler could not phantom what the hell was going on.

Each time he tried listening in on them, they would catch him. He didn't ask, either. They would just lie.

And to tell the truth he didn't trust them. Neither of them, not after what he found out. Not after both betrayed him like that.

If it wasn't for Adelle...and her freaky vampires...he would still be in the dark.

And this made him almost lose it.

Because he had enough.

Yes, Mason told him all about his nature, he told him about his pack and answered his questions, but the man was still hiding something. And he expected from Tyler just to follow him blindly? Why?

He trusted Ad with his life, he was where he is because of her, he was still alive and still in this shitty town, even after the numerous times his father had beaten him, because she was there for him. She was there. She cared for him.

And what did Mason do for him? He lied.

So even if the girl he considered a sister was associating with two assholes, he would always choose her side.

When he found out from Jeremy what happened an hour ago, how Mason had cornered her and how she had served his ass on a silver platter, Tyler was just about ready to shout Hallelujah. His uncle didn't listen to him, but he just might listen to Addie.

Adelle had this kind of power over people.

But that didn't stop Tyler from feeling protective over the girl. And for good reason, Mason Lockwood was twice her size.

That's why he was done with beating around the bush. If she had the guts to stand up against his intimidating uncle, so was Tyler. Hell if he didn't do it, his ego would be fucking crushed. He was getting some answers. Right now.

Just as he was about to step in their hearing range, the future wolf saw his father stalking away angrily leaving behind his raging brother. That's when Mason noticed Tyler nearing him.

"Not now, Tyler."

"Yes, now, Mason." growled the young man. "What is the hell going on? Why are you fighting?"

"It doesn't concern you, Ty." that made the boy even more frustrated. He forgot the people around him and stepped closer to his uncle, relishing in the warning he saw in the wolf's eyes.

He wasn't scared to fight him.

Even better.

If he didn't answer him, he would provoke him.

"Stop with the bullshit, we all know that's a lie." fired back the quarterback. "How do you expect me to trust you when you keep secrets from me!?" his uncle let out a sneer, holding back his own rage and took the teen behind the stage where neither had to keep pretenses of having a normal chat between relatives.

"I am doing it for you, Tyler!"

"That's precious! How about you get over yourself and butt off my case?"

"You have no idea what the stakes are here." hissed the older man.

"Yeah? So tell me! Tell me!"

And Mason was just about to do that, he opened his mouth, ready to spill out the truth of why he was back to this small forsaken town, why he had to endure his infuriating brother and had to fight his nephew on every step of the way. They would all thank him for what he was doing, even if now everyone was against him.

That's when his phone made a beeping sound.

A massage.

' _I'm disappointed, Mason. - K._ '

Confusion took over.

Irrational fear crept upon the wolf.

But was it truly irrational?

Or was it in fact well justified.

He would soon find out.

* * *

 _I didn't know what limbo was exactly. Life after life. Existence after death. I never really searched definitions or read books. I was never interested. So I couldn't tell if I was there._

 _If I was anywhere, in fact._

 _I couldn't see. I...Was there even an 'I'?_

 _It was impossible to describe it. Was I dead? Or...was this the infamous plane that Bonnie mentioned a lot in the series, because if that was it...well it was nothing._

 _What?_

 _You heard me._

 _It was nothing._

 _I was nothing in the middle of nothing._

 _I couldn't see. I couldn't hear. Breath. Smell. Touch. Feel. Was it because I was unable to...or because there wasn't anything out there to sense really?_

 _I wasn't able to tell._

 _All I knew...all I knew was that I was lying. Lying on nothing. There wasn't ground beneath me. But it didn't feel like I was floating or falling...or flying._

 _Like I said...it was nothing._

 _And I didn't know what was scarier, the fact that every fiber of my body was absent and my every sensor not working, or was it because even if I seemed to not be existing, like there was no 'me' anymore...I didn't feel truly bothered._

 _Like I was separated from my physical body...my physical everything...everything that connected me to the living, existing part of the world. And what was left was my mind. Only that. I had no eyes, no nose, hands or mouth._

 _I didn't have them, but in the same time I knew they were there._

 _Even_ _i_ _n this limbo, in this darkness surrounding and overtaking every sense of mine, I still knew I had them._

 _It was just that...that they were useless._

 _In death...what made you human was utterly useless._

 _Maddening. That's it. You knew you had to feel, your mind screamed at you that you should feel, but you couldn't, there was nothing to...to well...feel._

 _That's when I realized that you didn't need body, soul or a heart...you didn't need them to be terrified._

 _Your mind was enough, because of it you were able to understand ...I was able to understand that I had no business here, I had no place or the sanity to stay here...where ever this was._

 _All I knew._

 _All I was aware of was the utter unstoppable, truly everlasting,_ deprivation _of everything._

 _Everything._

 _So the saying that there was nothing after death might actually be true. Well...at least for a human non supernatural being like me._

* * *

"Mason? Mason? Are you listening to me?" almost screeched the quarterback. Said man had been staring at his phone for some time now, lost to the world around him and more specifically to the boy in front of him. There was a prickling sensation on his neck, stabbing discomfort in his gut that something was wrong. Very wrong.

Snapping his attention back on his nephew, the wolf decided it was time to speak.

"Tyler, listen to me." he paused, looking left and right, making sure no one was there. "You know where your father's safe is, don't you?"

Flabbergasted by the sudden change in his uncle's behavior, Tyler stared at him suspiciously. Moments ago he was just as ready as the quarterback to jump in a fight with the teen, and now he looked...distressed?

Nervous?

The future wolf was confused. He couldn't phantom where this change came from. What did his uncle see on his phone? And what did the freaking safe have to do with it?

"The one in his office? Yeah, I know it." he answered, not missing how the man deflated in return.

"And you know the code right? You can open it?" continue the older of the two.

"What the hell is going on, why are you asking me this?" couldn't understand the teen.

"Just answer me, Tyler!"

"Yes! Yes, I know the code! Happy? Why the fuck..." but Mason didn't let him continue.

"So it was you who took it. It's okay, just, give it back. I need it."

"What...what are you blabbering about, Mason? Give what back?" the air around them was getting heavier and heavier. The tension escalated quickly when the uncle took hold of the shoulder of his nephew, shaking him a little.

"Stop pretending, Tyler, I won't tell your father, just show me where you hid it. You didn't give it to anyone did you?"

"Let...Let go of me!" fought the boy, but to his utter amazement, for the first time in his life he wasn't the stronger out of the two, he couldn't escape. Was this how skilful a werewolf was after activating his curse?

Holding back the anger, confusion and the freaking disappointment the boy felt for the man he once considered a brother and a role model, Tyler tried to make sense of what the Lockwood was telling him.

"I need it Tyler, you have no idea how important it is, give it back and this curse, this burden … I will save us from it. Please, I am doing it for us!"

Tyler was ready to scream.

"Mason! What, what ..."

"The moonstone! Tyler give me back the moonstone!"

And just like that the teenager felt like someone had hit him in the guts. Flashes and flashes of memories went through his mind. Adelle's voice, the story, the curse, the stone.

A vampire. A werewolf. Moonstone. The death of the doppelganger. Elena.

Addie being scared, distressed.

The knowledge of something bigger, something scarier out there, lurking around the world.

Something stronger and much more dangerous than his uncle.

Why would he want this stone? Why would his father keep it in his safe? Was it missing? How were they all connected to it?

Finding his strength, Tyler lurched away from Mason, he escaped his bruising grip and before he knew it, the teen slung his right fist and hit his uncle straight in his jaw.

He even succeeded in making him take a step back or two from the force of the blow.

Not bad for a boy against a wolf, no?

* * *

"Donald, this is Sheriff Forbes. Donald, do you copy?"

No answer.

"Torino, this is Sheriff Forbes. Where are you? Do you copy?"

Silence.

The woman in the uniform with a badge reflecting the sun light as she moved, strode through the groups of people. She searched for her deputies, but not a sign of them.

They were not in their positions.

Neither could she reach them.

Leaving her own post, she dialed their cellphones. No response either.

Ignoring the Mayor who send her questioning glances and not seeing her daughter anywhere, the blond threaded her fingers through her short hair in frustration.

When she finds her subordinates there will be hell to pay for slacking on duty. Then she would hunt down Caroline and would have a talk with her for ignoring her calls for the past hour or something.

First she would check the main square, if not there, the parking and the food trucks.

Then.

Then the woods.

* * *

All Caroline wanted was to find Bonnie and Adelle and strangle them.

How hard could it be for the two to not disappear on her? And yes she was calling it disappear, because the alternative...which was ditching, made her want to think of more creative ways to kill her best friends.

This was her day and she looked freaking gorgeous, there were people praising her for her hard work, for her win and what an amazing young woman she was.

And . . .It!

Yes, Addie took many pictures of her two hours ago, but Caroline had worked very hard to achieve the perfection her hair was in right now and the dress was too pretty and painfully heavy to not have at least dozens of photos with it.

The cheerleader was not planning on ever putting it back on ever again.

No thank you.

She preferred the shorter ones.

And Bonnie? That witch. The moment she saw her boy toy she was no longer listening to the blond. So okay, Care could understand this, love and all that jazz, she would let it slide even if it was highly annoying.

But what about Adelle? What was her excuse? She was bored? The blond couldn't understand how her white haired friend could not like the parade! Caroline organized it so of course it was amazing, even if only because of this detail.

So in few words they ditched the girl. The ditched Miss Mystic Freaking Falls.

She would have whacked them both silly if her phone battery hadn't died on her a while back.

To top it all of said beautiful dress, that made her feel like a princess, was killing her slowly at the same time.

Yada, yada, beauty was painful. The head of every community in this town knew that very well, but it was still hard to breath in it. So she would have very well appreciated it if at least one of her friends was there to help her lessen the hold the corset had over her.

But alas...like she mentioned it before….Caroline Forbes was ditched.

That's why she found herself in the woods, as the bathrooms closest to her were despicable and smelly, and she was not going to flash some lucky soul out there. The forest would do it.

No one was there.

No one would see her while she battled with the offending fabric that was clutching her midsection to the point of dramatic discomfort.

A breath in. In. A little more.

There you go!

The blond was able to untie the strings, which immediately led for the constriction to stop and for her to be able to breathe like a normal person.

The girl was about to sing in satisfaction when she heard a noise. It came from a little bit further in the forest. And yes, Caroline wasn't stupid, she had seen many horror movies courtesy of Adelle and Jeremy, but this was Mystic Falls, nothing bad ever happened in this boring town.

And... well, she was nosy.

So she went to see what caught her attention.

One step. Two steps. Three.

Her left hand touched one of the bigger trees so she could step over some nasty roots and not trip down. When she looked back up, she let out a piercing scream.

There before her were two of her mother's deputies lying and covered in blood.

"Ah. Sometimes I miss the decades when those dresses where in fashion." a velvet voice, sweet like honey and almost tasting like venom reached the girl's ears.

Shocked big eyes, full with tears and fear turned left where they saw a figure.

A gracious, tall and slender figure. Dressed in black, hair curled in loose ringlets stood a girl surrounded an the air of superiority, sophistication and confidence. Her presence screamed predator as loud as seduction.

"I would have preferred if it was the ex-druggy or her aunt, but you will do too."

The terrified girl would have felt the lure as well as envy for the woman if it wasn't for two reason.

The gorgeous being in front of her looked malicious with her mouth and neck covered in blood.

And her face was the one of her best friend.

"E-Elena?"

"No, much better."

* * *

" _Leave."_

 _The first thing I heard. A simple word. A command._

 _But oh so powerful, so terrifying and overwhelming that it almost hurt._

 _I didn't know how long I had been where I was... but when this voice spoke I could not take it. Being deprived of all my senses, the sudden sound coming from everywhere, up and down, left and right was a shock to me._

 _No, shock was mild, not good enough._

 _It left behind a ringing in me. Like an echo, repeating itself over and over but not having any meaning._

 _It was simply flooring._

 _Controlling._

 _As it was the only thing that proved to me I wasn't lost, that I wasn't gone. I clinged to that sound, to the resonance that it left as well, hoping it will speak again._

 _Even if I couldn't answer._

" _You are disturbing the balance. Leave!"_

 _The voice boomed._

 _No not voice. Voices. Many. So many, that I couldn't count them, couldn't separate them, and distinguish them. Voices that melted into each other, overflowing one other, making it seem like they were one as much as they were separate._

 _Strong._

 _I wanted to say something. I wanted to explain why I was here. But how could one speak when they didn't have a voice? A mouth?_

 _How could I explain to them that I didn't want to disrespect and disturb the dead, that I didn't want to tip the balance. I just needed help._

 _I would have begged._

 _Begged. And begged._

 _If I could cry, I would._

 _If I could scream I would do it as loudly as I was permitted._

 _Anything._

 _Everything._

 _So I could ask for answers. To find why I was here, how could I get my family back? Who did this to me?_

 _Please._

 _Please._

 _Plea…_

" _You shouldn't be here. You are disturbing the balance."_

 _I know...I know I would…_

" _Your place is in another world. You don't belong here."_

 _Were they speaking about my presence in this nothingness… or me coming here in this universe?_

 _Which one?_

 _Both?_

 _Neither?_

 _I could finally understand why Sheila feared those witches, why Bonnie had such hard time harvesting their magic._

 _Compared to them...to this power... I felt helpless._

 _Unable to do anything._

 _To fight. To run. To stay._

 _Hopeless._

 _It was horrifying how insignificant I felt at this moment. I was nothing. To them. To me._

 _If I ever got away from here, I would never look at a witch the same way again. The astonishment and fear I would feel would mingle in to one emotion._

 _Respect._

 _Utter and complete respect._

" _Good." the voices spoke. "Now you understand."_

 _If I could nod, I would._

" _Leave."_

 _I would. If I had legs and there was a door, I would have ran towards it. But...maybe not._

 _Even if I had been presented this option, I would stay. I would brace myself for the pain, for the punishment and death for angering them and defying them. But I would do it, solely for the chance of knowing the truth._

" _Good answer. Foolish. But good."_

 _So they could hear ...I mean...feel me?_

 _What..._

" _You are here to walk your path. You can't go back, not till your purpose is achieved. You will have your chance of returning. Every choice you make will lead you to this moment by the end of which your last decision will begin or end everything. He has watched over this world for the past 1000 years and has seen the next 1000 as well and he had taken the liberty of changing it by bringing you here._ "

 _But who...who is this person? What path? How is he able to do all of this, why would the witches let him?_

 _What about my family?_

" _Just like here, you didn't exist before existing, now there, you don't exist after you have existed."_

 _Does...does that mean..._

 _No._

* * *

Mason Lockwood had to admit that for a teenager possible future werewolf with no activated curse, his nephew could pack one hell of a painful punch.

If it was any other time the wolf would have congratulated the kid for developing such good reflexes, but for better or for worse now was not moment to do it.

Better yet, instead he had to ignore the throbbing in his jaw and find out not only what Tyler knew, but also why he would attack him because of it.

Does Adelle Gilbert have anything to do with this?

From the moment he came back, he heard the name of the grown up girl so many times, that the wolf couldn't even begin counting. The little kid he once knew was replaced by a confident, beautiful and outspoken young woman, who even without the striking white hair, grabbed the attention of every man near her.

No longer was she the shy friend of his nephew who had the biggest crush on him. Now, she was dangerous. Not because she was strong or was a supernatural No, Adelle was deadly because she had a way of luring people on her side, of changing their beliefs and reform them, so that they no longer followed what was right, but what she told them to.

His proof was Tyler.

Mason could still not believe how protective and completely trusting the teen was when it came to the human. She was not only making him turn his back on his own uncle, who was trying to protect him but she was … on the same bloody side as those monsters.

It was truly madness.

Or maybe not. Mason had spent enough time in her presence to see why would Tyler do this kind of thing.

Yes, the girl was fighting for the wrong side, but probably she didn't even know it herself. The way she spoke, the way she moved and smiled, it was alluring, it was provoking in the most innocent infuriating way one could imagine.

She was oblivious to it.

But that didn't excuse her actions.

It didn't excuse how she put her family in danger just by being around the blood suckers. And she was even endangering his only nephew.

Yes, Mason could see that Adelle was just as protective of Tyler as the quarterback was of her, and yes, the wolf saw the kindness in her eyes, that was skilfully masked with wickedness and mischief and he admits that the way she justified her decisions almost made him want to believe her.

That's why Adelle Gilbert was deadly, why Mason wouldn't put it past her to have anything to do with the moonstone.

Even if in the process he would hurt Tyler's feelings in the end it was still better than being dead...or worse – a slave to a cursed destiny that neither had chosen.

Katherine was going to help him free himself and Tyler. She had promised. She loved him. So even with this message, Mason still knew that she was with him, that she would not cross him. Even if every fiber in his being screamed at him to get away from her, he loved her too much, he trusted her.

To hell with his pack. They couldn't understand. Katherine had changed. She wasn't like the rest blood suckers. She didn't harm anyone. What's more? She was willing to help him, a werewolf – her natural enemy, to become stronger, to free himself from this curse and pain.

But in order for that to happen, in order for him and Tyler to be free and him to have his happy ending with the vampire, Mason needed to find the moonstone. There would be no ritual without it.

Then with Katherine he would take some blood from Elena and finally he would not have to turn on each full moon.

One day Tyler would be thanking him, till then he would wait.

He trusted Katherine.

She was there when he killed for the first time.

She is here now.

She would be there in the future with him too.

It was only his nature that didn't understand his love for her that still protested at the back of his mind. But love was above everything else, right?

So if he had to play nice with the resident Salvatore assholes, betray his brother, lie to his nephew and hurt Elena, he would do it.

Because Katherine would do the same.

Or not...she was better than him, she could not hurt anyone. So he would do it for her, to spare her the pain.

The only problem was that the moonstone was missing. For the past few days he and his brother had searched for it, had checked every corner in the house. It brought many spats and fights between him and his own blood and he saw that with his actions he was pushing away Tyler too. But Mason would explain to them soon, they would all forgive him... when both men find out what he would do for them.

But the stone was still lost or maybe not, because Mason's nephew looked like he knew something.

The wolf had to hurry. Even if there was no time limit.

But, still…

Katherine's message came back to mind. He didn't want to disappoint her. He didn't want to lose her.

Just as this thought came a second one followed. He pushed it away, he pushed the wolf away that was growing and hissing that he was no pet, that he didn't follow blindly a _vampire._

 _A vampire who never spoke about her past._

 _A vampire who never talked about herself._

 _A vampire, stronger, older then him._

 _He was a werewolf. He didn't follow orders. He shouldn't_

 _He couldn't trust her._

He pushed all of it away.

That's when Mason heard the scream.

The scream came from not far away. It sounded familiar. It sounded terrified.

The wolf's first thought was that one of the Salvatores, probably Damon had finally dropped the pretenses and showed his true colors. He had to go see, he had to show Tyler as well who the teen was associating with. Then he would finally understand, then he would tell him where the moonstone was.

And he wouldn't mind his uncle tearing apart those monsters when the next full moon came.

In a second the older Lockwood grabbed the quarterback's forearm, ignoring the vehement protest, he pulled him towards the scream.

"Let me the fuck go!" shouted Tyler but he wasn't strong enough to escape the man's grip and could only follow him.

The boy didn't know what was going on. One moment his uncle was saying the word moonstone, the next he hit him and then here is he, in the middle of the woods with the sound of the parade slowly fading away the deeper they went.

Then they abruptly stopped, because before them now were three unmoving bodies. Two covert in blood and one still so pretty surround by a sun colored dress.

"Oh no, Caroline!" shouted Tyler, running past his shocked uncle, skidding to a stop right next to one of his friends. The teen's whole being was shaking with fear, fear as to why the blond wasn't moving, why she wasn't breathing.

Oh my God, her neck was twisted in a way that almost made him throw up his lunch.

The boy didn't know he was crying, sobbing even.

He probably wasn't even aware that he was shaking like a leaf, now white and trembling as his hands skipped over his friend's still warm body.

He didn't care about the other two, all he knew was that they were some of the deputies from town and that they had gaping wounds on their necks.

He couldn't give a fuck.

All he cared about was the girl he grew up with, that annoyed him most of the time and was too loud for her own good. Who was still one of the few people he liked in this miserable community.

The sunny, quirky and always grinning head cheerleader, was now motionless. The warmth was gone, her limp body still.

Caroline. She could not be dead. No. No. It wasn't possible. If someone was getting out of this town it was this over-controlling bossy girl. She wouldn't let this happen.

No.

The whimpering teen shook her body angrily.

She would wake up, Tyler was sure. Caroline was too evil to let them live peacefully, she was too stubborn and would come back just to kick his ass for wrinkling her dress.

Any moment now.

"Tyler..." the fog dispersed around the boy, Mason was standing over him, face grave, lips set in a frown.

What was his uncle doing? Why wasn't he helping him wake her up? Didn't he know that once Adelle found out she would laugh in his face for not catching the prank she and the blond pulled over him.

Yes.

It was a joke, all of it! Tyler would bet that the two minxes had planned it perfectly, it was a pretend and Addie would any moment now jump from behind some bushes, recording his sorry ass for sobbing like a girl.

He knew it.

Better yet, he might as well call her.

Taking his phone out, the teen ignored his uncle and dialed his almost sister's phone.

She didn't pick up. Nor the sound of her ring tone resonated anywhere around the forest.

It was all Tyler needed for the lie he told himself to be destroyed and for the full knowledge of what was going on to set on him.

"Oh no. No. No. No...no no no…."

"Tyler..."

"Call the Sheriff, Mason! Call the Sheriff...her daughter..."he chocked. "Her...Care...Why Addie isn't picking up her phone?"

He called the next best thing.

"Jeremy. Something happened. C-Caroline...she...she is dead. I...I don't know what...we are in the woods, somewhere behind..."

* * *

"Did you get the answers you needed?"

Were the first words I heard when I came back. Opening my eyes I was for a moment blinded by the brightness around me, the sounds were deafening even as quiet as they were. The solid ground beneath me was the most fascinating thing to me. The texture, the feel.

I was overwhelmed...even if only for a moment.

A moment was all I needed to realize I was back from the dead. Back from whatever limbo I was trapped in.

It all came crashing down. Faintness took over and I was about to fall flat on the wooden ground I was sitting on if it wasn't for the sure strong hands of Sheila Bennett.

The witch looked concerned even if she tried to hide it.

"Adelle, do you understand me?" her voice spoke, now gentler and lower. I only nodded, again relishing in the possibility of doing this simple action.

"How..." my voice cracked. "How long was I gone?"

"Less than an hour."

Only an hour? It felt like days upon days since the last time I saw the now fading sun...

"Your phone kept going on. You are quite popular it seems." was that a joke I heard from the normally stone cold woman? Man, I must really look like shit right now.

"Thank you for doing this for me, Sheila." I tried speaking more, testing my voice, liking how it got stronger and surer with each passing word.

"Don't worry about it, I hope it was worth it, Adelle, because this spell not only took my entire energy away, but it could have killed you." yeah, now that she said that, I did notice how Bonnie's Grams looked just as bad as I felt. "It will take days for both of us to get our bearings back and look like we are not steps away from hitting the bucket."

Lo and Behold, the Bennett cracked a funny joke. For the second time in a minute.

Shit. Give me a mirror, I must be even more pathetic then the remorseful first days of that _bloody time of the month._

Was it worth it, she asked?

I would do it again in a heartbeat.

Even if I wanted to cry my soul and heart out now. Even if I knew I would break down soon when the realization of what I found out came crashing down on me.

"It was worth it."

Now I needed sleep...and food...and food and some more sleep. And to stay the hell away from both Damon and Stefan because I didn't even want to imagine how they would react seeing me like this.

With the help of the witch I stood up, not sparing a glance towards my phone I tucked it away in my jacket as the two of us strolled out of this terrifying house.

* * *

Neither Lockwood knew how much time had passed, while the older one was checking the dead bodies of the two men, the younger one was still sitting next to his childhood friend.

This eerily painful silence was disturbed by the two vampires now standing there who looked around the small clearing, one with critical assessing eyes and the other with alertness and worry.

Then they saw the blond.

They didn't hear a heartbeat.

And the first thought that went through their minds was...

Adelle...no. She couldn't lose her best friend.

The image of the devastation and the pain her light blue eyes would fill up with, the blame she would put on herself...

It made one growl and the other fist his hands. They almost felt her pain. Almost.

"What are you two doing here?" hissed the wolf who was now standing in front of his nephew, blocking their view. "It was one of you, wasn't it? Or better yet both!"

The quarterback was too lost in his own grief to even notice the new arrivals, he didn't see the growing animosity between the three supernaturals that were now accusing each other of the sight around them.

Two denied any connection saying it was somebody else.

One was promising revenge.

Hatred and thirst for fight fogged the air. Mingle that with confused fear … and the animals were scratching to get on the surface, to tear and bite and kill.

No wonder no one noticed the two new sets of heartbeats that came around.

One being from the shocked Jeremy who had ran all the way here after informing Damon and Stefan what was going on.

The other not revealing itself only because the picture before her eyes was too much, too unreal and unfair to make it possible for her legs to work.

"How...what...is that...Caroline? Tyler...what is going on?" whispered the younger boy, who like in a trance walked towards his friend and...the motionless girl, succeeding in catching everyone's attention. The Gilbert couldn't believe his eyes, he couldn't phantom what he was witnessing. Just as he crouched down next to the future wolf, Stefan super sped on the other side on the dead girl.

The vampire searched for wounds and saw that her neck was snapped, he looked for some kind of evidence as to who could have done that all the while keeping himself in check and willing himself not to dash, find Adelle and get her as far away as possible from this sight. From the pain she would feel, from the tears she would shed and from the loss she would go through.

"Who did this?" spoke again Jeremy, the silence around him too hard to bear leaving him with the debris of his mind, where he saw flashes of all the times he had spent with Caroline Forbes, in the end of which his thoughts betrayed his reign by traveling even further back, to the last time he felt so useless, so much pain and regret.

To the time when he found out his parents were dead.

"Ask your friends, Jeremy." spat Mason, still glaring at the two vampires. "Don't you see the wounds of the other two? Who do you think is capable of doing this kind of damage?"

"Close your mouth, dog, or I will rip out your tongue." threaten Damon, who was now face to face with the werewolf. The older Salvatore wanted to beat the mutt till he felt satisfaction, he wanted to kill and kill so that he could stop his mind from reeling to all the images of the moment when Adelle found about the death of her most precious friend.

The raven haired man could care less about anything else, this sight was nothing new to him, but for the first time he was considering how someone else would react to this. If he could he would take her pain away, if it helped he would find who killed the cheerleader and serve it's cold body on a silver platter to the girl he loved with the hope it would lessen the loss and the devastation she would go through.

Fuck. For a moment the vampire thought he finally had her, but now how could he ever possess her entirely, as a part of his sweet sweet girl died the moment her friend took her last breath?

And she still didn't know it.

"Do you think we are that stupid?" Damon continued, sparing a glance at his brother who looked lost in his own world, worry written all over his face. "Those two aside, why the hell would we touch Caroline?"

"How would I know? She probably saw you..."

"And we couldn't just compel her?" interrupted Stefan, now too standing up.

"Your kind, your mistakes! Tyler don't you see, Caroline, those men, they were killed by the same people whose side you are standing on."

Tyler spoke. It was so low, so quiet and it didn't make sense even to the ones who had super hearing.

"What..?"

"He said to shut up." Jeremy almost shouted, face white, looking sick. He stood up slowly, swaying a bit and then he helped his friend do the same thing. Both boys leaned on each other for support.

Will that be physical or emotional.

Maybe both.

Neither had the power to look back down at the now cold body of Caroline Forbes.

"Shut up, Mason." repeated Tyler, stronger. "Shut the fuck up! Can't you see that I lost one of my friends? And all you are doing is throw accusations one after the other! Did you call the Sheriff? Or were you too busy with gloating that you proved to me that vampires were bad?" the glare he sent his uncle was so cold that it made said man freeze in place. "Well, news flash! I already knew that! There is no good or bad here. Only those who live...and those who..." his eyes went down, his breath hitched, the hand supporting him gave a pathetic but none the less assuring squeeze. "And those who don't."

"Stefan and Damon didn't do it. They were at my house the whole day, Jenna could tell you that." added Jeremy.

Mason was astonished. Not only because of the way Tyler spoke to him...but because if it wasn't one of the Salvatores...who could have done it?

That's when a new voice spoke.

"Lift your hands in the air. I want to see your hands in the air! All of you!" five sets of heads snapped simultaneously at the direction from where Liz Forbes revealed herself, holding a gun in her shaking hands.

Stream of tears ran down her cheeks.

True devastation clear on her face as a mother who was witnessing the dead body of her own child.

"Liz..." tried Damon carefully, even if all of them knew that they could easily take her down. But the regret in seeing the woman, he was starting to consider a friend watching her girl unmoving on the ground, didn't let him step closer. To stop her.

"You...you monsters! Liars! Who did this...Who...who killed...who killed my daughter?"

She was going to shoot, the wooden bullet was going to get right through one of them. In a less than a second.

It would have...but it didn't, because the body of the beautiful blond young woman in the yellow gown moved.

It moved and it shocked everybody, because then the motion was followed by a deep ragged filled with sound breath.

And a set of blue eyes snapping open.

"Caroline!?" screamed Liz and the momentary distraction helped Damon, who sped towards her, took her gun away and hit her on the right place to make her lose consciousness.

All the men present knew what this meant, when the head cheerleader started coughing, eyes frantic and scared.

She was in transition.

"Caroline? Care? Can you hear me?" asked Tyler, while Jer helped her sit up.

"I...oh my God...I saw bodies...blood. I...was it real? What happened?" her voice was scratchy, it hurt her to speak, she was still confused and the two teens were overwhelming her.

That's when Stefan stepped in. He gently pushed back the frantic boys who couldn't believe their eyes, moments ago they had accepted the fact that the girl was dead...and here she was now...

"Caroline, listen to me." the ex-Ripper spoke, careful not to scare her further. "Everything is going to be okay. We will get through this and I will explain everything to you, but please calm down first."

All that Care could do was nod, she trusted this guy, Adelle trusted him, she told her so and Caroline could do the same...because the blond trusted Adelle.

"Good. Good. You are doing okay. I know you are confused, but I promise I will tell you everything." the beauty nodded again. "Who did this to you?"

For a second no one dared breathing.

Then she answered.

"She...she did this...I first thought it was..." her voice cracked, fear evident in her round eyes. "I thought it was E-Elena, but it wasn't her, she had her f-face but...but she was nothing like h-her. She...she said her n-name was Katherine and ..."

She shuddered.

"And that this was just the beginning."

Two brothers felt fear sneaking through their body, minds screaming.

 _Danger!_

 _Protect Adelle._

 _Protect Adelle!_

Meanwhile Mason Lockwood lost the ability to think, his whole existence came crumbling down, suffocating him.

 _Betrayal._

 _Katherine? No!_

Now he knew what people meant when they said…

 _'I can feel my heart breaking.'_

* * *

 **Author's note:**

 **Some whining is in order!**

 **Yes! Yes! I know, I haven't updated in a month! There are no excuses, but I will still give you some. Heh. I blame it on my uni, yes, blame the system! I had to study like crazy and the sleepless nights didn't help with my inspiration to write. I'm a student who had lectures from morning till night, add to that my additional classes in Italian and kick boxing ….and you have the receipt for a very tired cranky Felly!**

 **So it's because of the aggravation I felt in the past few weeks that this creation came to be.**

 **Ooh! Heavy! Filled with emotions and different points of views. I poured in here every negativity I had collected and came out happy and satisfied. Yep. The way I wrote this chapter was unique..for my style. I like happy stories, but I felt that this fiction needed some of it and I just couldn't stop myself.**

 **I had planned it completely different from this, but then I think it turned out fine. What do you think?**

 **For one, Addie is finally getting some answers. For other, I had to make justice to Kat's character and anything less then dramatic entrance would just not suffice. So she effed some shit up. Perfect! I like her evil like that.**

 **And I preferred to tell it from third point of view, not forgetting the emotions and some explanations as well. This way we have better understanding of some of the other characters in this story. Like Mason and what he was up to, how he saw Katherine. Then Tyler and his connection with the gang. Even a bit of Caroline who would be from now on having bigger role in here! Go, go Vampire Barbie! She would kick some ass.**

 **Oh! And let's not skip the Salvatores even with their brief appearance and the Sheriff too. Hii, Liz!**

 **This update was to show how much the original scooby gang had changed with the influence of the one and only - Adelle.**

 **Now, now! Don't worry, next chapter would be lighter...partly. But it's necessarily to have some heavy stuff too...so we could see clearly how they all grow up and what not.**

 **Last thing!**

 **Because I feel very bad for keeping you waiting so long I will give you a little surprise...You ready? No? Too bad!**

 **Drum rolls, please!**

 _ **Till the end of this week there would be another update, so stay tuned!**_

 **Yep!**

 **Felly ^^**


	18. Chapter 18

Disclaimer

I do not own Vampire Diaries. The O.C. is my only original character.

This story will follow the series to some extend, there will be a lot of changes and you will find a partial O.O.C. here.

It will be rated **[M]** for future chapters and yes it will be a **Menage love story/P** **olygamous relationship** , if you don't like please don't read.

I welcome constructive criticism and if you would like to help me with that, please write me a P.M.

Big thanks to my Beta - Angelique Irene _(_ _AOHAD)_ for correcting this chapter! ^w^

 **[!]** Comments. Follows. Any kind of support is highly appreciated. No kidding, it does give the motivation to update faster!

* * *

Chapter 18

When I got home, I didn't even check if someone else was in the house.

While taking my clothes off all I wanted was to take a shower, soak my aching bones and wash away every last emotion from my heart. The girl I saw in the mirror almost scared me. She was pale, so pale that it nearly matched her white hair. There were visible dark circles under her blue eyes that had lost the mischief she was accustomed to. Looking down at her hands she noticed that they still trembled, she lifted her right one and she touched her normally plum red lips that now were dry and sickish blue.

Not wanting to stare at my pathetic reflection any more I turned my back on the reflective surface and got under the scorching hot water. I lost track of how long I spent in there. The pain and burn from the high temperature was nothing but a distant memory as I scrubbed and scrubbed over and over my skin till it was pink from the assault. Towel-drying my hair I barely had the energy to put my underwear and an oversized shirt on and then I was lost in a heavy slumber under the piles of blankets and pillows.

The only time I woke up was to the phone ringing. When I saw it was Bonnie calling I decided that I owed her an explanation as to where I had kidnapped her Grams. Thankfully she allowed me to be brief as she probably understood that I was very tired, so she didn't ask many questions. I didn't tell her the entire truth either. What she knew was that her grandma and I had done a séance of sorts in which she helped me contact the dead. From then on I let the little witch come to her own conclusions as she no doubt thought I wanted to see...or talk with my dead parents.

I didn't correct her.

Then we hung up.

I prayed to God that the world would leave me to rest for at least a couple of hours even if it was only eight o'clock and people were still around town having fun.

But I would get whatever I could and this peaceful silence was very welcoming right now.

* * *

On the other side of the town in the Boarding house one could describe the setting as anything but peaceful.

Better yet, it was chaotic.

The very moment Caroline uttered the name of the one person hated more than anything else by the Salvatores, it had only got worse. Damon had knocked Liz Forbes out and Stefan had to calm down the Sheriff's daughter that was not only in transition and had seen two dead bodies next to her but witnessed how someone hurt her mother.

While the girl was hyperventilating, Tyler and Jeremy were still wondering how to take the news. One was astonished that Care was alive...sorta, while the other couldn't stop thinking that now that this older vampire was around things would get very bad.

Mason was a whole other story. The wolf was too shocked to move a muscle. The ruckus around him was forgotten as he could not believe that his Katherine was able to do this...monstrosity. She had told him that she didn't like killing, that she had stopped doing that for decades. But the wounds and the state of the two deputies told him clearly that the woman he loved was more than capable of murder...murder filled with blood lust and finesse of only those who _enjoyed_ taking lives could achieve.

Tyler was the only one that was silently piecing all the information together. The hurt and betrayed look that his uncle had on his pale face, to the moon stone, the curse and the message this Katherine was sending…it was starting to make sense.

Now in the boarding house things haven't changed a lot.

Jeremy had called Adelle but she wasn't picking up her phone. Bonnie was his next option who told him what his sister was up to and that after such magical experience she and Sheila Bennett would be out like a lightning.

The younger witch was more than furious when the Gilbert boy informed her of what went down in the forest.

She was on her way as they spoke.

Across the parlor, next to the fireplace Tyler Lockwood wondered if his uncle was to speak and confess of his involvement with Caroline being in transition. The quarterback still couldn't begin to understand how much the blonde's life was about to change. Till this day he was never close with any vampires and only knew what Adelle had told him. Which was a lot but at the same time not enough. Strangely enough he now felt obligated to make sure Caroline would get through this, after holding the cold body of his childhood friend, crying his eyes out over her, he never wanted to see her so helpless again. The best way to do this...as he was far from expert on the topic of vampirism or heart to heart talks, was to make sure that the head cheerleader knew why she was brought in the middle of the cross fire.

Mason was not far away from his nephew and the wolf had a hard time remembering how he got from the woods to the house of his enemies. But were they truly his enemies? That's what ...she told him. To stay away from them, that he should be safer if he didn't attack them. But could Mason trust anything that came out of this woman's mouth now?

Stefan had brought the shaking, confused and very scared girl to the sofa nearest the fire. He had placed a blanket over her frail body and sat next to her. The blond had been gripping his hand for the past ten minutes. While looking at her the vampire did not only see her but he couldn't help but be reminded of Damon as well. Damon, his brother who didn't want to be turned, Damon who was forced into vampirism by him, who looked just as scared and lost. Back then, just like here and now, was all because of her. Because of Katherine Pierce. She came then, she came now and she destroyed the lives of innocent people, souls that didn't deserve what she forced upon them. Hatred and strong desire to kill her slowly turned into determination. Stefan centered himself. He couldn't allow any kind of distraction. He will not leave like he left his brother many years back. He will guide this girl and make sure that she will live through this nightmare. Then he would take care of Katherine. One way or another he would kill her, he would get revenge for what she did to Damon, to Caroline...what she did to him. And when he was done, when he was sure that she would never be a threat to anyone ever again he would take his happiness, he would take Adelle. Stefan will be happy, he will fight for his love. So one day he would be safe, redeemed with his Addie and his brother.

For now though, his first step was to help Caroline Forbes.

"Please tell me what happened..." the blond brought him back from his thoughts. It was now or never...

Meanwhile down in the basement in the cell next to the room where Damon kept his freezers filled with blood, the vampire was now perched on the wall, silently waiting for the Sheriff to open her eyes. For the past few months since he got back and infiltrated the secret council he had unknowingly become friends with Liz Forbes. Yes, most of the time the vampire lied his ass off every time he talked with her, but the respect and the slight easiness he felt around her were real. The raven haired man had to always keep his guard up around that woman, but the same time he couldn't help but see her not as a threat...but as a figure who unsuspectingly had been giving him advice of how to understand his feelings for one particular white haired girl. So, if Damon Salvatore could really say he had any friends...with the exception of Alaric Saltzman, Liz was one of them. Or… she used to be. Now he had to wait for the vervain in her blood, which he supplied her with, to wear off. Then he would compel her to forget what she saw today. It was necessary, so to hell with the guilt he felt in his gut. As the vampire waited he kept an ear to hear what was going on upstairs. To his annoyance Mutt and Mutt-junior invited themselves in his home. If the situation wasn't so bad he would have chased them away with a broom. Little Gilbert could stay, as Adelle would kick his ass if they didn't get along, and the kid had his moments when he wasn't so stupid. From the looks of it the witch from the west will be joining them soon. Great. Like he didn't have enough of the judgy looks that the Lockwoods gave him. If the ju-ju girl tried frying his brain, he would give her that same broom and make her fly away through the window.

Damon, even if he couldn't see his brother, could easily guess what was going through his head. The vampire would bet anyone that his brother felt guilty for what happened with Miss Mystic in Transition Falls and would play the savior who would teach her the ways of life and be her Yoda. Oh the horror! By tomorrow morning they would get a new roommate. Man, the deja vu he was experiencing right now! The same thing happened with the Copy...now with the cheerleader...who was next? Their house might be called Boarding house, but it was anything but that! If Stefan was feeling the motherhood pull and all that jazz, Damon could buy him a kitty...or kidnap Beluga. But getting strays left and right? Nahh...

The only thing stopping him from voicing those thoughts was one...ok were two things. First, Adelle. Of course. If Stefan didn't help Caroline, Damon had no doubt the girl would take it upon herself to train her friend. And that .Happening! She was big enough magnet for trouble as it is. The second reason was his brother. Never let anyone say that Damon Salvatore wasn't observant, he saw the look in his little brother's eyes. He knew that when Stef looked at the cheerleader he actually saw Damon and how they were more or less both forced to turn and Katherine was the cause. So now his dear sibling was redeeming his guilt by helping the blonde. The Salvatores had talked this through a long time ago, they had forgiven each other for the misgivings and were closer than ever. Damon no more blamed Stefan for his immortality, if anyone was to take the heat it was that bitch who ruined his night. Man, the entire day he had been thinking of the moment when Adelle would come back and he would have her again in his arms.

And here he was now dealing with the results of the prissy hit his creator had left them with. When he was done with the Sheriff he would be getting some answers from the canines upstairs. For now though, Damon would leave his brother to his mission of being the Vampire 101 manual and explain everything. He might as well get himself a drink from the next room while at it and wait for the screaming contest Bon-Bon will be throwing any moment now to pass…

The front door slammed open.

Heavy angry steps marched in the parlor.

"What the hell is going one here?" here it is…

The raven haired man upgraded the one bag drink to two bags. For now. Later he might add a third.

Wait. What was the witch saying about his girl and some ju-ju séance? Come again …?

* * *

Two sets of eyes observed the small house cautiously.

Two hearts were beating slowly filled with anticipation, fear and dread.

Two hands were holding each other in desperation.

They had been lurking in the shadows for a week now, hiding and watching.

Collecting information.

In the house they could hear talking, lights were on. They could smell the water near, the blood inside.

The lovers had been running their whole lives. Or it felt like that long. For centuries they have lived in fear, constantly looking over their shoulders, never resting in one place for more than a few months. While they hid, they searched. They searched all over the world and then some. And now they finally found it.

The found the doppelganger.

It should have brought them happiness, it should have brought them the chance of redemption and the possibility of saving themselves... They were so close…

But then they had spent some time watching her. And it didn't take long to realize that they were far too late, that the next doppelganger was a vampire now...and she was the last one.

Just like that the little sliver of hope vanished. Elena Gilbert was as useless as Katherine Pierce.

Trevor had begged Rose to run, to get away...they have lived for centuries like that, what other option were they left with? But Rose had enough. She couldn't bear the thought of being a slave to her own fears. She knew that this girl was of no use to them now and even if they wanted to take her it would be hard, not only was she a vampire but she was in the presence of another one.

All they were left with was waiting. Waiting for a chance. Opening. Something, anything even if not this Copy, to buy back their freedom.

Trevor agreed. The two would stay close, they would watch what happens while making sure no one knew they were here.

* * *

Caroline thought she was dreaming.

Yes, this craziness could only be explained as a figment of her imagination. True, the blond was never the literature type, she never really saw the appeal of books too, so the possibility that she had that much creativity was highly doubtful. She was smart sure, more than most gave her credit for, but this….this was beyond her.

It took more than a few hours for Stefan to comfort her and for her to calm down... She was still in shock and because of that while the … apparently more than hundred years old vampire told her what was happening around her own town...she stayed rooted in place, not a sound coming from her mouth.

Somehow she had missed the memo that in this world there were supernatural creatures like wolves, vampires and witches and they were nothing like the ones in her favorite book series 'Twilight'.

Figures.

Even Caroline wasn't so naive as to think that it was all flowers and sunshine.

Her mind was fast to keep up with what Stefan was telling her. Like what exactly were those creatures, details and even that he and his brother were one of them. What really got her was that her best friend was in fact a witch. They had joked years ago about it, but it looks like it was true. Then she found out that the Lockwoods were...werewolves. But not exactly. Tyler had stepped in then and told her the 'specifics' of how they came to be...all gore and angst.

That's when Bonnie had barged in and had started shouting. Sometime later, Care had the general gist of 101 Supernatural. She could bet there was much more to it. But they had changed the subject before she could ask some questions. Her neurotic self would later kick in and would demand to know all that was there to know, just because. Now...now she was too busy gaping at the revelation that her mother had known all about this and was in fact in a secret council with the rest of the founding families and ...well she was against them...more precisely, she was ready to kill each one of the people in this room.

Great.

Ask Caroline how she wasn't hysteric by now and she wouldn't be able to reply.

But that was far from over. All the Gilberts knew about this...which meant Adelle freaking knew too. This whole time! She should be furious… offended that no one thought it was important to tell her what the hell has been going on under her nose! But before she could start screaming Jeremy had stepped in and had told her that his sister...Elena wasn't really sick and in a hospital recovering from an operation.

Nahh...

She was a vampire as well... Someone had forced her and turned her against her will and she had been at the lake house...with ...yeah.

.Mother.

What the actual fuck?!

Hello! They were best friends! Shouldn't Caroline know when something so groundbreaking and earth-shattering happened to her closest friend?

She would kill them all once she gets over the shock. That she promised to herself. Heck! They would be in her debt for the rest of their lives for hiding this shit from her. And yeah...blah blah blah...they were trying to protect her and keep her as far from danger as possible...she understood that, but that still didn't mean she would go easy on them.

Then shit hit the fan and finally broke her down when someone finally spoke about the bitch that had the same face as Elena.

Oh…yeah...

The one who snapped her neck too.

And why wasn't Caroline dead? Because she was...how did Stefan call it..? Ah! She was in transition...yes.

Wow.

Just wow.

Care was sure that this was the moment when she should fucking break down and start wailing, but she was more angry with this what's-her-face copy that had the nerve to use her...Caroline freaking Forbes as a messenger! This anger was good, it kept her grounded and able to keep up with the explanations where Stefan told her that this … _hag_ had been his creator, had slept with both brothers, was the reason for them to be killed...and well, by the gist of things this bitch was the starter of everything evil...ever. Or so Care liked to think that.

And she was so not exaggerating! She was pretty pissed off. And if Bonnie didn't stop looking at her like she was made from glass, Caroline would scream!

Where the hell was Adelle?

Oh...yeah, silly her! Adelle apparently had a chat with her death parents or something so she was now passed out at her home…

There's that...

Ahh! Let's not forget that her history teacher is a hunter too. Goody!

And that there was some curse and some stone and sacrifices and a whole other bunch of bad guys out there!

And! Her mother was now downstairs in a cell, where she would stay for some time while...whatever herb she _smoked_ or ... _ate_ , or _whatever_ was out of her system and Damon-asshole-ass-daring-to-make-her-mom-faint would compel her to forget everything she saw today. Yep. Cause her mother shouldn't know her daughter was about to become a monster...that drank blood and would never age a day older than f.u.c.k.i.n.g _sixteen_...Or she would kill her.. Her own kid

The irony didn't escape her.

Were they going to tell her that Beluga was some kind of autobot or a hell-hound next? Because he was the only one left that was normal in this picture.

Caroline never considered Jenna normal...you know...with her studying psychology and all that jazz..

Why wasn't Adelle here, again?

"Care...are you...are you okay?" asked Bon and that's what did it.

Was she okay? Hah. Yeah...she was perfectly fine! Her life was a lie, her world turned upside down in an hour, her hair was a mess with all the grass and twigs in it...and this fucking beautiful dress wasn't even yellow anymore and it was still hard to _breathe_ in it…!

She didn't know how it happened.

One moment she was gripping Stefan's hand and next she was attacking Tyler. Then all she could taste was blood.

Blood.

She wanted more.

More!

And then she was pushed back...or was someone holding her back…?

She trashed and trashed, wishing to leap out again and get some more of this heavenly drink. She was so thirsty. So thirsty!

Then her head felt like it was about to explode. Pain. So much pain! It was like every fiber of her body was being torn apart.

She could hear chanting in the back of her head. Shouting. Curses.

What did she do?

What was...then the pain was gone. And she fell down on the ground but she didn't even got a second to let out a sigh as her skin started to burn... Like she was ...she was burning!

Impossible.

But in fact she was!

Then Stefan moved her away from the direct fading light of the sun coming through the window.

She had been crying. Crying for longer than she had realized.

Maybe this whole time she hadn't kept her cool like she thought. Maybe she had been hysterical through it all.

"Such a soap opera..."

"Damon, don't!"

The sick sound of a crack resonated in the room, the sick sound of neck being snapped.

"What? It's not like it's her first time!"

* * *

"Was that really necessary?" sighed Stefan, as he gently lifted the still body of the newly turned vampire in his arms. The ex-Ripper then placed her back on the sofa, where he made sure she would be comfortable and cleaned her face from what was left of the blood there.

Bonnie looked like she was ready to pass out. She felt guilty for hurting her dear friend, but the witch knew it was unavoidable or Caroline would have killed Tyler and the blond could never live with that kind of blood on her hands.

Said quarterback was surrounded by Jeremy and Mason. The Gilbert boy was helping him stop the bleeding while Mason was threatening every single person in the house. He wanted to get out of this place and take his nephew with him, but he knew that that was not an option. Glaring daggers at the Salvatore brothers, he almost growled in a warning when Stefan stepped towards them. Said vampire ignored him and with no words teared his wrist and gave it to Tyler.

"This will heal your wound."

"No!" shouted Mason.

"Fine by me." quipped Damon. "He will bleed to death in the next ten minutes, and even if the cleaning after would be a total drag, I would have no problem getting rid of the body."

"Damon!" said in exasperation Jeremy but only got a roll of blue eyes in return. The raven haired man remembered all the times Addie had called her brother a brat. Now he couldn't agree more.

Wordlessly Tyler took the offered wrist and with bad hidden disgust drank from it. It was awful but in seconds the scorching pain was gone and in place of the gaping hole on his shoulder now there was only drying blood.

"Tyler..." started Mason but was shut up momentary by the said boy.

"Shut up. It's my decision." that was that. Then he turned towards Stefan. "So...now she is fully vampire?" the man nodded.

"She completed the transition, from now on I will help her adapt and teach her how to live this way."

"What about her mother? Liz Forbes hates your kind, will she hurt her own daughter?" asked Jeremy, eyes darting from one Salvatore to the other. It was strange for him to communicate with them when Adelle wasn't around. The edge he saw now, this scary aura around them, the predators inside that were never there...or were subsidized by the sheer presence of his sister, were now apparent to him as a day. It helped him see how much Ad was affecting them, how calm those men were with her there, how much humane and...and controlled as well.

It astonished him the power his insane...most of the time bat shit crazy sibling had over them. They were another set of people...or at least the Salvatores were too busy gravitating around her to do any damage...like they so easily could do now.

"Don't torture your poor brain with that, baby Gilbert!" smirked Damon. "In less than two days she will forget all about today!"

"How can you live with yourself?" spat Mason.

"Shouldn't we ask Caroline first?" asked Bonnie, who was now next to her friend, regarding her with worry.

First Elena...now Caroline. When will this end? With what did they deserve this? Neither girl should have been forced in to this, forced to live a life full of blood, lies and hardships. The witch was still getting a grip over the fact that Elena was no longer human, and now she had to add Care to this as well. The sunny full of energy Caroline who...who was caught in the cross fire...who had been no more than a warning, a message as to whom they were dealing with. And because of one sick woman, the life she could have had was no longer possible.

Her innocence. Gone.

The chance of a family. Gone.

Kids. Gone.

Normal life. Gone.

The witch in her wanted to get as far away as she could. Care had Stefan now, surely Adelle as well. When Elena came back she would help the blond too, they didn't need her. Her Grams had told her that witches and vampires weren't the best of friends, so they couldn't blame her for wanting out of this mess.

But then she looked again at the face of her childhood friend. She remembered all the precious memories they shared together...she couldn't leave her. Not now, not ever.

Just like she had helped Elena...she would do it for Care as well...and hopefully in the mean time she would get a grip of things...

Things like...two out of the three dearest people in her world would never age...would watch her die…

How could Adelle be so okay with this?

Then she recalled what the crazy Gilbert had told her once.

 _'Human. Vampire. Troll. Witch. Doesn't matter. Family is family.'_

Elena was her family. Caroline was her family.

And Bonnie Bennett didn't leave her sisters. She was nothing like her own mother.

The witch had made up her mind.

"Well...if Blondie here wishes to have some one on one time with mother dearest down stairs, then I could care less. But I doubt our Sheriff would keep quiet. So there is no way she leaves the cell before I'm sure she wouldn't blabber to someone. Now...stop looking at me with those judgy eyes!" Damon joked. Bonnie kept glaring. "It's for everyone's good."

"Everyone's? Or yours?" she asked.

"Mine. Stefan's. Elena's. Now Caroline's too. Or did you forget that we have a new member in the AB negative group?" he taunted. "Now can we tackle the important thing here?" no one said anything. "The name of which is the bitch herself – Katherine? Oh! Look at that it even rhymed!"

Neither Stefan nor Damon missed the way Mason's whole body stiffened.

In a snap of fingers Damon snaked a hand around the neck of the wolf. He tried fighting but the vampire was way stronger and angrier, so Tyler's uncle could only prepare himself when the elder brother pinned him threateningly on the wall behind him.

"Mind sharing with the class what you know, mutt?" spat Damon, ignoring the surprised gasp from baby Gilbert and Sabrina.

"Fuck you." fired back barely breathing the werewolf.

"Now, now! You are in no position to throw some naughty words here." growled the vampire, allowing his eyes to change, veins to appear under them and hiss with his extender fangs. Now he looked terrifying.

He tightened his hold.

Lockwood was unable to take a breath, what about saying anything.

"Let him go." Tyler stepped closer, catching the attention of the vampire. Stefan watched not far away, as he didn't care what Damon would do with Mason, but he wouldn't let his brother hurt Adelle's friend with his anger clouding his mind. "I have some ideas of what is going on."

That's how some time later the truth came out.

If Stefan could put it simply it was something like...

One. Katherine had been sleeping with Mason, who believed that she loved him.

Two. Both were after the moon stone.

Three. The werewolf was still in denial that the woman he loved was using him, but at least now he knew she wasn't such a saint. He might be for the moment on their side.

Four. After a little fight with Damon, Stefan stopped his brother from grabbing the phone from the wolf and calling their creator. In the end the raven haired man saw reason and that this action would only anger Katherine further and she was dangerous.

Five. They didn't know what was the real reason as to why Katherine was after the stone, and no one believed the bullshit she sold Mason, that she did it for him. What they did know was that she wanted it and she was willing to blow her cover in front of the wolf to get it. So it was important, even if they didn't see her connection with the sacrifice… especially when she was no longer human.

Six. She didn't know that Elena was vampire, so for whatever reason she wished to undo the curse of the sun and moon, she had lost the chance a while back now.

They formed a plan. With the help of Bonnie, the Lockwoods and Jeremy would find the stone. They had to get it before the older vampire in order to lure her in and get rid of her. The Bennett witch would do whatever spell she needed and with the help of the other three she will get this magical object.

At first no one agreed for Jeremy to participate as he was human, but the boy was adamant to be part of this. Mason wasn't welcome either as no one trusted him now, but Bonnie was sure that if needed she could overpower him. The man himself justified his wish as a way to get Katherine and find out if everything was a lie.

Another fight broke then. Damon had made fun of the wolf, ridiculing the naivety of the Lockwood. They hated each other, it was clear as a day. So Stefan saw it fit to tell who exactly Katherine was to him and his brother, hoping that Mason might see reason, because at the moment he was their weak spot, and he reminded him too much of himself and Damon.

To say that Mason took well what he heard next would have been a huge misunderstanding.

For the moment they agreed to disagree.

While the four would search for the moonstone, Stefan would stay back and help Caroline. Bonnie had made a day light ring so her constant presence wouldn't be needed. Damon was not participating either. His reasons completely different from his brother's.

The Salvatores agreed that Adelle needed protection, more so than anyone else. Katherine must know by now that the girl was too close to the brothers, so she had to be with either of them during every moment of the day. This was covert with the excuse that Jenna needed this protection as well and that the vampire had to deal with Liz and Alaric as they were...his so-so on and off again friends.

Elena would get a call from Jeremy that same night.

Stefan would call Lexi and see if she could find what was the connection between Katherine and the moonstone. They knew that for the curse to be lifted they would need the blood of a human doppelganger, neither Elena nor her predecessor answered the criteria. So why would the older vampire put her head anywhere near this ritual as she must be very well aware that many who wanted this curse to be lifted would be not pleased with her involvement. And if it was true that she didn't know Elena was a vampire...why would she help a wolf, freeing him from what made him weaker than a vampire?

Or was this whole plan not for her..? Could she really be doing it for someone else...not someone she loved...but someone she feared...the same one she had faked her death centuries ago for…?

Could she be trying to buy her...her freedom?

Sooner or later they would find out. Stefan was sure of it and as he watched people getting out of his house one after the other he was thankful for the moment when they would be gone and he would have the chance to think this over.

How he wished that he could go to Adelle, she didn't have the answers but she made him feel calm, he could breathe around her and in her absence, part of himself was missing too.

But he couldn't. Not tonight at least. He had Caroline to watch over. His only solace would be the memory of what happened last night.

And then tomorrow when she came, Stefan promised himself he would taste her again and he would seek some answers as to why she had been talking to the dead.

For now he could only hope that Damon was as tactful as possible when he told her what happened with her best friend.

Yes, because his brother was on his way to see her.

Stefan should feel jealousy...but instead of that he felt relieved. At least one of the two would hold her tonight.

* * *

I wanted to cry from annoyance.

I was so tired but I just couldn't turn my brain off and even if I wished to sleep I would wake up more than once.

Having no idea of how long I've turned around in my bed, finally I had enough and I just flopped on my back and stared at the ceiling. It was hours since I went to bed and even if I haven't succeeded in loosing myself in the dream land for too long, I was feeling better. My energy was nonexistent and I was still pale, no doubt ...but at least I didn't see myself as the representation of death anymore. So that was a plus.

The moment I heard the door opening I hid under my blankets and hoped to God that whoever it was would leave me alone. No such luck.

"I know you are awake, Adelle." Shit. Shit. Shit! My luck went from low to POOFF gone in seconds. Why did the vampire need to come? I was pretty sure that when he sees me Damon will throw a hissy fit.

Deciding to be stubborn I gripped my covers over me delaying the scolding for as long as I could.

I heard the door closing quietly, the deliberate sound of footsteps coming closer were paired with exaggerated sighs from the vampire. Cringing, I was still as a corpse when the mattress dipped from the weight of the Salvatore and then I even stopped breathing when both his hands placed themselves on either side of my hidden head.

Damon was almost on top of me, only his bottom half resting on my right side.

"Should I feel offended that you are oh so miserably failing at ignoring me?" came his question and it startled me by how close his presence was...like he was hovering just above where my face was.

When I didn't answered right away, the raven haired man tugged gently the blanket but I was latching hard on the fabric and it didn't really budge.

"Adelle..."

"I..." panicking I wandered what should I say to get him out of here. "I...leave me alone..." there was no answer. I should have known that no matter what I did Damon would have never left.

I should have been aware of this.

But I blame it on my half working brain because of which I let my guard down...leading to slacking on the hold I had over the blanket.

Seconds later the thing was gone from my upper half and I was met with the amused vampire himself.

Yep. He was truly hovering over me.

I was about to shout but my mouth shut close, when the amusement in his gorgeous eyes disappeared instantly.

What happened next was almost a blur.

Those same beautiful sinful orbs darkened instantly, his lips pulled back and his whole body became rigid when he snarled lowly. The hands on either side of me tightened around by pillows with such force that I heard the distinctive sound of fabric being ripped apart. I have never seen such anger in the man above me, it was as frightening as it made my heart beat frantically. I should have been terrified but no matter how feral his features appeared to be I noticed immediately that those same furious eyes showed undeniable worry too. I didn't have the time to react before Damon had me in his arms.

Even in his state, his touch was gentle, afraid to hurt me. It all contrasted astonishingly with how stiff he was, how deadly he sounded when I flinched in pain from moving my body and he growled …. _growled,_ in return.

Soon I was sitting up, body too tired to support itself on its own and I had to cling to him so I wouldn't topple over.

"What the fuck happened?" Damon didn't shout...but the way he whispered the question was even stronger than the loudest screams. Both my hands were on his folded legs, one on his muscled thigh while the other on his hard knee. His, on the other side, were holding my mid-section, fingers gripping my pajamas.

Our faces were close and I had to look up a little as even if we were both sitting the vampire was still taller than me.

I knew why he had reacted the way he did. That's why I didn't want to see him or Stefan, before I had recovered and looked like a human being once again. I should have known that it was futile trying to avoid either of them. So I decided to be truthful. The way he stared at me, made my heart clench with guilt.

"I asked Sheila Bennett to help me with a spell." Damon already knew I was meeting with her today. Somehow we never got the chance to talk about it, or better yet for him to inquire what I was up to.

"She did this to you?" hissed the man and the scary look in his eyes only intensified. I saw clearly the images going through his head of all the ways he could kill the witch. So I quickly answered.

"No! No. She helped me."

"Why? What was this spell about?" his fired back instantly. Face coming closer than before, gaze sweeping over my features, hardening with each sign he saw of how tired I looked at the moment.

"I asked her to help me contact the dead witches."

"What?" his voice raised. "Why didn't you tell us? What the hell would you want to do with those pests, Adelle?" in his haste, I didn't know if Damon was aware of it but he brought my body towards his and now I was sitting on his lap. Hands holding his shoulders for support and looking down, now that I was the taller one. It didn't help, I still felt small in comparison to him. But I still felt secure even if the same time trapped and unable to deny him anything. Which in this exact moment was answering his questions.

"I needed more information, Damon." his hands gripped me harder. "I …"

"It's about the secret you keep, isn't it?" he stunned me in to a silence. Did he know? Was I so obvious? "Do you really think you can hide so much from me, Addie?" asked the vampire, eyes hard but not hiding his worry. "I can see that you are keeping something from me, something from Stefan and everyone else. I don't know why, though. Don't you trust us?"

What could I say to him? I wasn't in the right condition to tell him the truth the topic was too heavy, even if I wished so much just to let it out and to cry. Now was not the time.

"Damon..." he growled.

"Don't lie to me, please..." I flinched from the desperation in his voice... I was truly hurting him. Shit.

Getting over myself I knew what I had to do. Taking in a deep breath I summoned all the energy and braveness I had in me. Lifting my hands from his stiff shoulders, I trusted that the vampire would keep me steady for the time being. I placed them gently on his cheek and the other I threaded slowly through his messy black hair. The whole time the Salvatore brother looked up at me, emotions going one after the other in his orbs, making my heart get erratic.

Hurt. Confusion. Worry. Passion.

He closed his eyes briefly when I tugged gently on his locks, the rumble in his chest vibrated through my clothes as I was pressed to him. His brows were scrunched and he unconsciously leaned in to the palm of my other hand, which was stroking his cheekbone slowly. I didn't want to see him hurt...especially not by me. I knew that sooner or later he and his brother would become suspicious of my actions, but I never knew Damon would be so betrayed by my silence and unwillingness to share my burden with him.

It was as hard as it is...to bear all of it on my own. I didn't know for how long I would hold it in, especially when Damon was … Stefan was...when they were ready to hear me out, to take some of the hardship from my shoulders. To share this pain with me. God, my heart did some weird flip flopping just now, heightening with the burst of all those warm emotions.

"I want to tell you, Damon." his eyes snapped open. Big, round, eager. So eager that my breathing came out harsh. I was almost panting. "I wish so much to just say it...to admit and let you in, you and Stefan."

"Then do it, Addie." he whispered, nose touching mine accidentally, his hands traveling up and down my back in a comforting way as he no doubt was hearing my crazy heart. How anxious I was. "I could never judge you, you know that right? Neither do I have the right or the heart to do it. Whatever it is, Adelle, I would accept it..." his eyebrows went down. "You trust me right?" he asked unsure, stilling his whole body like he was expecting the biggest rejection from me.

"Of course!" I said immediately, not wishing to see that vulnerability in him, the fear mingled with the expectation of being hurt.

"Then what's stopping you?" he asked. "What could you possibly tell me that makes you so afraid?"

"Damon...you don't understand." he shook his head.

"Trust me when I say that no matter what you tell me, my opinion of you, the way I look at you...the way I fucking...fucking feel about you won't change, my sweet Adelle." Damon promised and there was such utter conviction in his voice...in his eyes that I knew he believed those words.

It was so easy to believe them too. The fingers in his hair tightened again, I didn't know where that boldness came from, but hearing him talk like that, seeing him look at me like _that..._ it made my insides burn, it made my heart swell. It felt freaking amazing.

I have never experienced such devotion, all the movies...the books...they could never explain this emotion well enough. To know that you had someone who...who was completely _there_ for you, who felt so much for you… it was breath taking.

So I didn't stop myself, I even relished over the power Damon so willingly gave me upon himself. The vampire who didn't trust people, who had experienced so much betrayal and pain, was giving me the key to all his feelings, to all that made him … _him. Damon._ The man beneath me was as open as one could ever be. He was letting me in on his thoughts and emotions. He was voicing them too!

All because of me. All for me.

Fuck. No fatigue … no pain could stop me from bathing in the glorious feelings after realizing this.

So I took and _took_ as much as he gave.

I pulled harder his hair, moved my other hand on his neck and pushed his head back a little so I had the perfect access to his lips which I unabashedly attacked.

In respond to his low growl I moaned. The ache of exhaustion was replaced by another so much more pleasant one. His arms gripped me closer, squishing my breasts to his heaving muscled chest, the only constrictions being two thin shirts.

Damon kissed me back immediately, answering my fervor with double the ferocity. When I would suck on his bottom lip, he would bite mine in return. When I would tug on a black strand he would hiss in the painful pleasure and drag one hand under my ass and squeeze. That would make me moan and I would grind almost unconsciously on his lap.

Damon then kissed me even more harshly. Groaning with pleasure and controlling my movements as now both his hands were firmly on my bottom, guiding it slowly but firmly so I was almost riding him.

Shit. Fuck. It felt like heaven... Maddening. So freaking maddening.

Because of the fabrics that were separating us from each other the extent of the pleasure was limited, but it still didn't stop me from noticing his hardening length under me, it still didn't prevent me from feeling each shuddering breath radiating from his body. And each time when my intimate part touched his in just that right...so fucking right place, I would groan, hiss and buckle as pleasure would sip in me. His reactions were almost instant as he would too lift his hips up to follow my movement, unconsciously not wishing to be even mere inches apart from me.

I needed to breath and as hard as it was to pull away, I still had to. That didn't deter the vampire as he latched on my neck, kissing, licking, and biting.

All I could do was pant harshly, throw my head back and hold him for dear life as Damon marked my skin over and over again, not once stopping the maddening dance we had been in.

"D-Damon..." my traitor of a lips whispered...no...it was more of a whine! His only response was to squeeze my butt harder and grunt.

Yes grunt.

Shit. My head was getting lighter. It was hard to think...not when his mouth traveled lower, pushing the neck of my shirt down. His tongue darted over the swell of my breast and I almost tore out a strand of his hair.

Bad move. Because it activated a chain of reactions. My hips buckled violently, which proved to be amazing when his covered member glided over just the right spot and I completely lost it. Scream was torn from my lips, eyes snapped shut, hands clang for dear life as a mind shattering wave of pleasure went through my body, making me loose the feeling in my legs, head to become blank as a white canvas and hotness traveled over me ending in my lower soaked region.

Shit. I couldn't believe it. Did it just...did I just… It hit me from fucking nowhere. I didn't expect it...

But before I could grasp the idea of it, the vampire beneath me lost all control.

"Adelle." he growled, eyes black, veins visible under them, fangs glinting. He looked feral, feral with lust and on the brick of following me as he watched me the entire time, relishing, drinking me in while I've been cumming. I was still riding out my orgasm, not stopping grinding on his stiffness. I had lost any capability to think and I just nodded.

Nodded. Because I knew what he wanted. Nodded because I wanted it too.

That's when he bit me. I let out a chocked scream because I have never expected it to feel like that. The moment his fangs pierced my skin, over...above... my breast I felt pain. It was stronger than I thought, but it did the complete opposite of making be recoil. No.

When I felt the pull… in other words when I felt him start drinking, I pushed myself closer. It hurt. It hurt a lot but it felt so good in the same time that I didn't give a damn.

Not when it was Damon that was doing it, not when he was still making me grind on him and when he was letting out those fucking sexy growls of pleasure. Not when he buckled from under me, or when shudder after shudder of ecstasy hit him just like it did to me moments ago.

And especially not when I was the reason when he pulled back, mouth painted with _my_ blood, his head thrown back and the most sinful moan escaping his lips.

His hold would no doubt leave bruises on my skin, I felt light headed from the loss of blood, especially after today's exhaustion, but I didn't give a flying fuck. Damon looked so lost in pleasure, his face was so open and all the emotions glided across it, making him appear young, free and fucking breathtakingly unreal.

We were both silent, trying to regulate our breathings, not moving or even attempting to separate ourselves from each other. When Damon looked back at me, his lips were parted, he was panting, chest heaving, eyes blown away and the vampire features gone. His hair was messed up from my assault, mouth still red with red substance. I was truly shocked by how sexy he was. His whole face screamed satisfaction, pleasure…but what made my heart stutter, was the feral note in his orbs, the immense possessiveness that washed over him when his eyes swept over me. No doubt I looked just as debouched as him, and I knew the male pride in him was gloating with what he had done to me. When his gaze swept to my lips, his own tongue came out licking the rest blood off from his mouth, eyes twinkling with provocation for me to dare and stop him. Then his attention was on my partly exposed chest. I felt the throbbing pain and in any other situation I would have asked him to heal it as fast as possible, but now? Here? Even if blood was sipping slowly down my shirt, destroying it for good, even if it pained me and I was losing some serious life force here...I couldn't make myself not like it.

Shit. I was messed up. Because in my deranged mind, this wound, those precise two dots from where Damon's fangs were, they stroked my ego... It stroked my own...till now unknown possessiveness as it felt like I was _his_. And he was _mine…_ and we had proof because he was unable to control the animal in him when around me.

When I looked back at the Salvatore, the man was staring at wound as well. For a moment there was guilt written on his face but then it was replaced by wonder and satisfaction.

Yep, he was just as messed up as me.

When Damon leaned in, I stayed still while his tongue lapped at the blood painting my skin. It was the smart thing for him to heal me as fast as possible, but neither of us seemed to pay this notion any attention.

Bracing for the pain, I did feel it, but it was mingled with the coolness that his tongue left over my body as he cleaned any evidence of the red substance. I was not moving, just watching his actions. My hands were on his shoulders, holding for support, while his were under my shirt, grazing the skin with light touches, in a way the strokes felt like reassurance, calming and apologetic.

Then he was looking up at me. Eyes connected, not even blinking I could only stay there astonished, feeling the goose bumps all over me, as the vampire kissed each small wound left by his fangs, licked them and then kissed them again. Not once looking away, beckoning me.

There in his gaze I saw what he was doing. Just like he left this morning hickeys, tonight he would not heal the bite. With his saliva he had stopped the bleeding and closed the wound, but without his blood, it will scar.

It will scar and I would be forever left with the mark of his fangs.

I shuddered.

His eyes darkened.

Again. Because I was nodding, agreeing to his silent question. And I saw how he fought with the transformation, pushing back the vampire side of him, no doubt my acceptance pleasing him in such deep meaningful way that I could not begin understanding it.

He hid his head from my view, as he pushed it in my chest. I should have felt embarrassed that Damon was using my breasts as a pillow or something but I was more amused that he did it. Like he was embarrassed to show me how fucking happy he was.

He hid well, but not fast enough as I saw a peak of a real smile forcing its way on his lips.

I couldn't help it. I grinned like an idiot. I knew we had to talk, that our previous conversation wasn't done either, but I let myself bask in the giddiness that washed over me. My hands moved again in his hair, this time only gliding them contently through his black locks. Brushing away the mess I had made of it.

"Stop that." he grumbled, not moving.

"Don't wanna." I fired back, which elicited a chuckle from him.

I don't know how long we stayed like that, but when Damon pulled away, my body felt cold. Yes, he didn't move far, but it still felt like I was missing his warmness. Who knew? He slowly placed me on the bed, eyes calmer, guarded even as he regarded me.

"How are you feeling?" he asked, voice low. I was confused for a moment not understanding. The vampire let out a sigh. "I didn't take a lot...but you still were very tired..."he looked away, guilt showing clearly. "I shouldn't have done that..." I didn't let him continue.

"I gave you permission, Damon." I said, placing a hand over his, squeezing in reassurance.

"Yes, you did, but you were not thinking straight." he fired back, shaking his head looking very disappointed with himself. "Shit, Adelle. What we did...I...I in no way am I regretting it." his eyes bored in mine willing me to believe him. I did. "But it was neither the place nor the time to do it. Fuck. You looked...you look bad enough as it is...and I ...I fuck! I drank from you!"

"Damon."

"No! No. Not only we were in the middle of something very important, but you have no idea what happened today. Instead of taking care of you, like I promised myself and Stefan...I fucking lost control. I...Gosh, Adelle, you have no idea what you make me do. Shit." he was looking at anything but me, Damon appeared to be...to be embarrassed.

Oh my…

"Do you know when was the last time I came in my freaking pants?" he asked and I dumbly shook my head. "When I was a pathetic _human_." he hissed and if I didn't know him well, I would say he was angry at me, but I did know Damon so I was sure that what I was witnessing was Damon Salvatore being flustered.

Fucking shit. I must be dreaming.

It was inevitable. I laughed. His head snapped in my direction finally looking at me, eyes narrowed, displeased with me not seeing the _problem_ here.

And why should I? My ego was stroked immensely by his admittance of losing any semblance of control and acting like a teenager around me.

Tell me you wouldn't react the same way as I did if in my place, as Damon fucking Salvatore, sex machine extraordinaire, with experience in the art of seducing and sleeping with women for over hundred years just couldn't help himself but finish in his pants…

In a second he was in my face, eyes narrowed, angry...if he could blush I bet he would be doing it.

"Do you find this funny, sweet Adelle?" he growled...but it was equal parts pissed off as it was amused. "If I recall correctly you were no better, I still hear those purring moans leaving your lips and the way you were grinding desperately against _my_ cock." I blushed crimson. He smirked.

"Yes, but do you see me throw hissy fits like you are doing right now?" I countered back.

"No but you don't have the experience that I do so your response was expected while mine..." I stopped him, this time my eyes being the ones narrowing.

"So it's bad that I made you feel like you did, but it was perfectly acceptable for me to react the way I did?"

"No...what I mean..." I didn't let him continue.

"For your information, I could care less about your wounded ego, I was happy that I could provoke this kind of response from you, I was happy that you felt just as much pleasure as me even if it was in the form of grinding...like hormonal teens. I don't regret it, I don't feel embarrassed by it either. If it's such big problem you can leave." the vampire looked surprised, then the shock from my admission was replaced with chuckle and a small smile.

"You truly surprise me every time, Adelle." he said.

"So…?"

"Look… I didn't mean what I said in a way that I regretted it or that I wasn't pleased...because I was...I am...you have no idea, Addie. What I tried to tell you was that...I am not used to losing it like that. All … all that mattered was you and how you reacted so freely to me and shit...it was the first time that you initiated anything." I blushed again, and he came closer. Lifting a hand he stroked my cheek gently, pursing his lips in a frown when he noticed how pale I was. "If I could let you in my mind the blushing would be your least problem. Trust me when I tell you that I don't regret anything, even more...now I would have harder time keeping my hands to myself around other people. It will be even harder to stop doing this over and over again. Fuck...even now all I wish is to tear those flimsy clothes you call pajamas and take you like it must be done. All fucking night and then some more." I let out a squawk at that. "But I _can't._ Not when you are so sick, not when we still have to talk...not only about what happened today with you and in you absence...but about the fact that you are not mine alone...not when Stefan is in the equation too."

I nodded. I knew very well that he was right. I didn't miss how the vampire was gripping my sheets like they were the only thing holding him back from jumping me and making true to his promise. So I fought back my own hormones. Something bad had happened. And I had to explain what I did as well.

Taking a deep breath I smiled. Okay. Fine.

"Okay. But let it be noted that I am too finding it hard not to climb back on your lap and this time just open the zip of those jeans and..." In a second Damon was on the opposite side of the room. Hands holding my table, cracking sounds resonating in the room from the way the wood split under him. He grown loudly and glared heatedly at me.

"You fucking minx." I laughed while he shook his head. "Go wash up...I will do the same in the other bathroom and then we will talk..." Damon paused and pained expression passed through his face. "Shit...since when am I the one initiating … _talks?_ " then he swooshed out of the door, leaving me almost cackling in humor.

I did what he asked me to and while I showered I asked myself where did this boldness come from. Damon was right, it was me who started this...and even when he was smart enough to stop it...or stop what we could have done...I still shamelessly provoked him.

For all I knew the Adelle in this universe had no experience in any of this. I was aware that she had some boyfriends for fleeting of times but nothing serious, nothing to the point where she slept with them. Or Caroline would have told me in one of the sleep overs we had. I on the other hand was no Casanova or anything...but I did have a three years long relationship a while ago...so I wasn't clueless.

Still...I have never been so bold...not when what I had with Damon was still so new and raw...still unidentified. Not when I had the same thing going on with his _brother._

 _Shit._

This could get messy in the blink of an eye.

Sometime later we were both in bed. All fresh and Damon wearing some slacks he had left intentionally in my room... a month or so ago. He even had joked about placing a toothbrush next to mine and convincing Stefan of forcing me to give them some space in my drawers. That's how much time we had spent together here. Mostly at night...when I couldn't sleep well if not in their presence. Was I so blind then not to notice all of _this_ bubbling just beneath the surface?

Shaking myself out my stupor I looked at the vampire who had been already staring at me. We were facing each other, not much distance from one other, hands touching the other, moving, caressing, feeling and relishing in how comfortable it was, how right it felt. The stiffness that I felt before he showed up was no longer there, I felt like shit still...but him being here...what we did before that...the pain could never overcome the giddiness and the bliss.

"Should I start or should you?" he asked. I shook my head.

"What I did today...I did it because I needed some answers. I asked Sheila to connect me with the witches that were burned alive in the house deep in the forest, you know it right?" he nodded. "It was scary and I really didn't want to do it, but I needed to know the truth, Damon. I do hide something from you...from all of you. It's not that I don't trust you or Stefan...it's the complete opposite...if I am going to tell someone it would be the two of you. But this secret... it's bigger then what you could imagine Damon, trust me I know it. If I told you...everything you knew...I feel like I would lose you...you will hate me." his eyes narrowed.

"That's impossible."

"No...you don't get it...it's..." he shut me up.

"No you don't get it, Adelle. Me hating you? Stefan hating you? It's impossible. Maybe I do not know the gravity of your secret but what I am sure of is that...is that even if one day you killed every one here...if you betrayed me and my brother..if you hated us...it would be impossible for me… for us to loathe you." my breath hitched.

Fuck. He was actually telling the truth...

Seeing my shocked expression the Salvatore chuckled.

"Yeah… I was just as surprised by this realization as you are right now." I wasn't in the right mind to dwell more on what his words implied. Not now at least, so I continued.

"I will tell you, then. I will admit everything I hid from you. But I need Stefan to be here as well. Maybe it will be a mistake, but shit Damon...you have no idea how much I wish for you to know." he nodded.

"Trust me I get it… you better not know how many times I had stopped myself from forcing the truth out of you." his chest rumbled in displeasure. "Whenever you are ready...tomorrow...next week...just promise me it will be soon, things are already bad as it is without it, and if I don't know what is going on I would go crazy and would most probably do something stupid even for your standards."

I knew he was right. It was time to admit all of it... I trusted these men, even if I was still scared, they had the right to know, even more now when we are getting so close.

"So that's why you look like that?"

"Yes, I talked with the witches but it took all of my and Sheila's energy so we will need some rest to get it back." he opened his mouth and I knew before he even voiced it that he would propose to give me his blood...even if neither of us wanted him to do it. "No...it's not physical exhaustion, Damon, your blood would do nothing." I didn't miss how his eyes swept over my covert chest where the wound was already healing. I didn't miss either how even if guilty the vampire looked pleased too.

"Did they tell you about what you were looking for?"

"Yes. Partly." I flinched back when the memories of what I found out crashed on me. Damon pulled me in, hands wrapped protectively around me.

"I don't like this, Addie. I don't like seeing you so miserable and so sick, I … I don't know how to make it better. How to protect you or make it stop." the distress he couldn't hide, neither the displeasure.

"I know...I know and I'm sorry for making you go through this, but soon, I promise soon I will tell you everything. Just...give me time." I felt him nod. "About tonight..." his body stiffened. Like he was bracing himself for rejection. My heart squeezed in pain for how uncertain he was, how much Katherine had hurt the man next to me in order for him to be so ready for pain. "I don't regret it, Damon." I continued, voice steady, willing him to believe me. "I, I just don't know how this works. You and Stefan...yesterday was well, it was something different and I can't, I won't continue anything if it will result in hurting one of you."

There was a small pause in which all I heard was our breathing. Then the vampire spoke.

"Few weeks back, Stefan and I had a talk." that grabbed my attention. "We admitted to each other that we both had feelings for you." he let out a chuckle, but it wasn't a bitter one. I was stunned into silence. "It wasn't truly surprising, as neither one of us was blind and you are … _you,_ so it was inevitable." I blushed. "The problem was that...because of you we are okay now. I would deny it if you ever said that to him, but we forgave each other for all the shit we did to the other and we, fuck this is gonna sound so girly, we reconnected. Again..." he threw me a pointed look. "I will never admit this to him, so don't you dare repeating it, but I finally got my brother back."

I couldn't hold back the smile.

Shit! Yes! I knew that already, I saw how much more comfortable they were around each other, how they spoke more, how they did things together and when needed they acted fast like a well-oiled machine. I didn't see animosity or hatred...distrust.

"Yeah...yeah, spare me the gloating, whatever. What I _meant_ to say was that neither was willing to destroy what we got back by fighting over you. And fuck, Stefan should be the one explaining this, because he loves this sappy shit, but the same time we didn't want to let go of you either." my breathing hitched. "We agreed that night, that we would let you decide if you want one of us and if so the other would be happy."

"What… but..." he didn't let me continue.

"The other option, which admittedly is what the two of us wanted, was for to both have you."

Cue the red face. I squeaked too. Oh!

"Breath, Addie." he said, voice laced with humor. I had no idea what to say. "Look. My brother and I have lived in this world for quite some time now. Trust me, normal quickly becomes boring and with nothing but time at your disposal you experience and try everything." his smirk bloomed when I got even redder. How was that possible? "In the brief years when we were on good terms, Stefan and I did a lot together. Call it boredom, curiosity...but in the end of the day...what we are doing now...or better yet..." his smirk was something evil...something fucking mischievous. "Or better yet what we plan on doing _to and with you_ , we have done it before." he stopped me from saying anything. "Of course, now this is completely different, before it was just sex, but sex is only small, very small part of what we want from you, Adelle." My eyes were ready to pop out in shock at how at ease the man was while admitting all of this. "If I have to say it in few words...we want you. Entirely."

My heart stuttered.

"The experience I told you about is nothing compared with what is going on right now. Trust me, this is as new to you as it is for me and my brother, Adelle. That's why we are careful, that's why after last night when you showed us you were okay with it we stopped. Believe me, if emotions were not involved and if me or Stefan were lesser of men then we are, you would have not gone out of this house...you would still be locked in it."

"Oh my..." he chuckled.

"So we are taking this slow...well as slow as I can...as an ex-Ripper can. You haven't said anything about it, I won't ask, not before you are ready, but you have the right to know what….I want, what Stefan wants. There is still a lot to talk about, Stefan would be a lot better at explaining the feelings bullshit so don't ask me or I will screw it up." that made me smile. "I just want you to understand that you are the one holding all the power here, Adelle, even if it doesn't look like that to you." he stroked my back gently, eyes open and honest showing me the truth behind his words, making me feel safer and somehow calmer.

"That's the thing, Damon. Both of you have lived for so long, you have at least an idea of what you are doing...I am just...lost." he brought me closer, kissed my shoulder gently, then my neck, cheek and forehead, before he looked at me and our breaths mingling with one other.

"Just tell me that you are okay with this...that you are not letting this go on because you are afraid of hurting one of us. Adelle...if you ...if you feel something only for one of us just tell me."

I pursed my lips, guilty for making him feel so unsure and in pain. So doubtful and ready for rejection. My heart hurt for him. Shit. I was already in too deep.

"Just like you made a promise with Stefan, I made a promise to myself, Damon." his eyes snapped at me, eager to hear what I had to say, hands tight around me. "I, God...it's selfish and bad and not right...and I feel like fucking Katherine, but I knew for some time now that I had feelings for both of you. That's why I pushed away. I hated myself for being so stupid and not realizing it sooner. I couldn't bear the thought of causing you both to fight...to be another doppelganger. That's why I told myself to hide it, to stop, because I could not choose. Worse, Damon, I didn't wish to. So when...so when you both kissed me last night, it was the best thing that could have happened to me...even if the guilt killed me while doing this."

He hissed lowly, shaking his head.

"You are nothing like her, it was Stefan's and mine decision...what we want from you...it was never like this with that bitch. We didn't trust her, we never truly loved her...we were never that close, Adelle. That's why this is possible now, because you are the one who pushed us, and fuck here I am again being a fucking sap, but just like you can't decide between me or Stefan, I can't do the same when it comes to you or my brother. I can't tell you if this will work, or how will it work, but I can say for sure that it was Stefan who sent me here, who told me that at least one of us had to be with you, if not both. I...shit, how should I explain it to you? I don't feel jealous if you share the same emotions you do for me with my brother, fuck if it was anyone else….I would tear him apart, but not Stefan. It's the same for my little brother and it's possible because it's _you._ Do you...do you get what I mean? "

I nodded. Unable to form words.

"What you are saying is..." I tried but my voice hitched as my heart expanded with fucking selfish hope and wonder.

"That if you are willing to try, if you are okay with being shared and loved by two men and can handle it, then we should soon go and have a talk with Stefan and see how we will make this possible." he finished for me.

Oh my God. My head was spinning. Shit. Was I dreaming? Why the hell would these two...wonderful flawed men want me? Me?

I knew that it would be hard, we would make mistakes...and even if I was open for something so unconventional, many would not be like that...I still wanted it. It was important for me that Elena, Jenna, Jer, Ty...Bonnie and Care would be okay with this, I would be happy if they understood and accepted it, no matter how strange, but I decided that I was in too deep in this madness, even if they would oppose … I wouldn't be able to go back.

With a made up mind, fears bubbling under my skin and still very much unsure of the _how's_ and the _why's_ in all of this...I nodded.

"Okay." I mumbled, beat red, hiding my head in the crook of his neck, breathing heavily. I relished in the way his whole body stiffened with shock and how the skin my breath touched resurfaced with goose bumps.

"What..?" came the deep, hoarse tone of the Salvatore, disbelieve noticeable in it. "What?" He took my head, pulled it gently back so he could see my face and stare astonished in my eyes. "Please, repeat that."

Blushing like there was no tomorrow, insides flip flopping with emotions and lips ready to split from so much smiling, I told him.

"I want to try, Damon."

"Fuck." he growled out and kissed me harshly, bruising, sloppy with how much both of us were overwhelmed by my admission. Then he buried his face in my hair, took a deep ragged breath and let out a low growl. "I won't let you go back on your word, Adelle. In no way are you escaping from this now." he stated.

No. He promised.

I soaked in this information.

…

Sometime after that, when I was slowly drifting away in my sleep I remembered.

"What did I miss today?"

"Sleep, tomorrow I will tell you all about it."

If I was more conscious I would have easily spotted the way he said that.

His voice was both amused and angry as well.

* * *

I should have known. Really, it was pretty obvious.

But then again I had the excuse of not only being deprived of my energy but also having a steamy heavy make out session with one of the sexiest men this show had to offer.

The morning when I woke up it was to Jenna who had come back from her stay at Ric's place and had informed me that Jeremy was staying at Tyler's house and it was my time to walk Beluga. The puppy...or better yet the big big ball of fur ran past the door and jumped me on my bed. It was hard to know what was happening before Jenna was out of the house only leaving behind a dose of pills...because I apparently looked sick and saying that she called the school to inform them I would be not attending.

That's when realization of what went down in the early hours of the night sank in.

The Samoyed took full advantage of my shocked state because he licked my face over and over again, tail wiggling in the air, happy sounds coming in high volumes.

I halfheartedly tried pushing him away but his pitiful whining made me feel guilty and I just decided to rest on the bed and pet him for a moment. Staring at the ceiling as I composed myself and slowly the sleep disappeared from my mind.

That's when I heard chuckling. Looking up I saw Damon perched casually on the nearest wall, observing the numerous photos on the said wall, he would throw me amused glances from time to time. The air around him screamed ease and I shamelessly took my time ogling at his sinful body. Did I forget to mention? He was half naked, only wearing the jeans from last night with no shirt what's so ever. Hm...I wonder…is he going commando?

No! Bad, Addie, bad!

"Where were you when Jenna showed up?" I asked.

"Making a few calls." he said easily and smirked at me.

"Anything I should be worried about?" the suspicion crept on me. No...it hit me like a ton of bricks. He was hiding something. And he was enjoying my annoyance. "Damon..."

"Oh settle down...it's nothing to get fired up!" I did not believe him even for a second. "Just you know...Katherine showed up, killed two of the deputies, turned Caroline, the Sheriff is locked in my basement waiting to be compelled and the Lockwood mutt has been sleeping with the old bitch this entire time….ah! And part of the Scooby gang a.k.a Sabrina, Mutt junior and your brat are going on a hunt for the moonstone. You remember it, right? It looks like Katherine wants it, made Mason fall in love with her and he was here to get it for her. Shocker, the stone went missing, the bitch wasn't pleased and went on a rampage, blowing her cover in front of the Lockwood and promising more deaths if we don't give her the stupid rock." he finished his story with a wave of his hand, little shrug and a pleased smirk.

I stood up immediately in a sitting position, eyes big, mouth agape, trying to make a sound come out but appearing more like a fish out of the water.

W...whah? WHAT?

Wait the fucking minute!

"And you told me just now?" I almost shouted which led to the vampire laughing at me.

"Well...we were kinda preoccupied last night and it wasn't like we didn't say some important things to each other..." I was about to fire back a retort when he continued, shushing me like I was a kid. "And before you go all 'Damon, bad!' I should inform you that you passed out before I got the chance to tell you anything." he paused, deliberately looking me up and down slowly as to make a point. "But I can't blame you, I did tire you up pretty well, didn't I?"

The fucker! He was enjoying it!

"Damon!"

"Ah. Ah!" again he shushed me and I felt my brows twitch in annoyance. "Now you know what it feels like when you leave out information on purpose and share it with us when you think it's important." if his satisfaction was any bigger the vampire would burst out in a million pieces.

I was about to shout some more, but then something rang in my mind.

Wait...Bonnie, Ty and Jeremy are the search party for the moon stone?

Wait...Wait..! Caroline was turned? What?

"Tell me everything!" I almost pleaded and maybe it was the desperation in my voice or the fear for my best friend that reflected on my face that Damon cut the crap and became serious.

And fuck!

I'm gone for few hours. Few hours! And shit hits the fan!

Yes half the things he told me, I already knew. Like Mason and his puppy obsession with Kat. I should have expected her reacting soon enough.

Heck, I made a mistake! Like what did I expect? I knew the Lockwoods would be left with no places to search for the moonstone, then Mason would inform Katherine and...well she would use her awesome 'persuading' techniques in order to get what she wants. So she turned Caroline...once again the blond was a messenger for the bitch. She effed up two deputies too, and Liz had witnessed it all. Now no one knew where the stone was. So witches will come out and play. I knew it was a matter of time before Bonnie and Kat's witch made some ju-ju and locate the moon stone, but why were Jer and Ty in all of this?

From what Damon told me, Mason was trailing after them as well, more to have the chance to talk with Kat then to find the magic object. Stefan was in the boarding house helping Care collect herself and if she had already talked with her mom, then the poor girl would feel even worse. Fuck...Even if I changed a heck of a lot in comparison to the original series, somehow my friend still ended up being killed by the bitch, Liz still hated her for what she became and had to be compelled...and Stefan once again played the savior.

At least Bonnie, from what Damon told me, had reacted pretty well, just like with Elena she took it hard, but still made a day light ring and promised to be there for her friend.

Before coming to my house, the older Salvatore had gone and told Ric what happened, who from the looks of it still had to inform Jenna. My teacher had taken the news in stride, saying that he will call Stefan and ask if the vampire needed some help. Damon was tasked on getting me up to date ...in which he failed miserably...how anyone allowed him that was still a mystery to me.

We were now in the kitchen, the vampire had forced me to sit on my butt and rest while he made breakfast. No one said anything, but while the raven haired man waited for me to sort out all of the new info, he played with my puppy and hummed a song I could not care enough to ask about.

Thank goodness that he had no luck in finding the apron or I would not have enough brain cells to process everything.

I think Jenna hid it after that 'movie night'...if you still remember what happened then.

But going back on the important shit.

Things were moving rapidly. Katherine showed up.

Which...was...Finally! I was starting to question her actions. If we are lucky she has no idea that Elena is already a vampire, but with the way she ferociously sought the moonstone out, then I think the ball is in our corner.

I had to check on Caroline, Stefan had explained everything to her, no doubt that the entire night and this morning the blond was bombarding him with questions, so when I got there she would be well up to date with all of the shit around here. I wanted to explain why we kept her in the dark, I had to make sure that she was taking everything as well as possible. I even planned on having a girl's night just to make it up to her…

Yeah... as if one girl's night was equal to being forever sixteen for the rest of your immortal life.

But I will think of something. Maybe it was time for Elena to come back? I mean...she was in control, her presence could help Care...and Katherine would get suspicious if she was absent for too long. Lena would have to act human nonstop, though, as I had no doubt that some of Kitty's goons would be watching. Yes...I should call my this-dimension-sis. What about Isobel...ugh...and the Mayor? They were both killed off in the series so their presence was a loose cannon. But I couldn't do anything about it at the moment.

And Mason, the dude was on the clear for the time being, I saw no future ...or near future where Damon would be going all Kill-Kill-Kill on the ass of the werewolf. Maybe when the wolf finally realizes that Kat is a bitch he would be more willing to help take her down. Who knows, maybe he and the Salvatores would bond over the fact of how manipulative skank Petrova was.

Now talking about the bitch, I had to move on with my idea. I had plans for her, plans that would make her life a living hell, but in order to achieve them I had to contact someone. And let's not forget the fact that she had a Bennett on her side...I wonder, now when Sheila wasn't dead, would she sense her family around town? If so, maybe I had one more ace up in my sleeve.

"What's with the thinking face?" Damon brought me out of my thoughts. He was now sitting opposite of me, looking at me suspiciously, eyes narrowed. I opened my mouth to answer but he beat me to it. "Don't even try it, I know that whatever comes out of your mouth is a lie, that was your scheming expression. What are you planning?"

I had a scheming face? Since when?

I laughed at myself for being so obvious and decided that it wouldn't hurt to share some of my ideas.

"Kat doesn't know that Elena is a vampire."

"How do you know that?"

"If she did, she would have come and killed us all for letting her pawn be turned and making her now useless. She is still after the stone, so she must still think that there will be a sacrifice."

"We can use it to our advantage." supplied Damon and I nodded, relishing in the yummy food, noticing the satisfaction that showed in the vampire's expression. "What else?" he pushed.

"Mason." ignoring the roll of eyes I continued. "Now I know why he is so annoying. He was a sick puppy sniffing after Katherine, but maybe if he stays alive long enough he might see her for who she is and help us get her as well." the vampire scoffed.

"We don't need him" now it was my time to roll my eyes, as Damon was too stubborn and his male pride didn't help him.

"We do, especially when he has an entire pack on his beck and call and he has a way to contact her...if she doesn't show herself before that. And let's not forget that he is deadly once a month."

"And I'm deadly every fucking single day of that month." fired back the Salvatore in annoyance. I regarded him strangely. What's up with the rivalry?

"Damon..." he stood up and started pacing.

"Mason might still be on her side, Adelle and we are letting him in on what we are doing, it's by sheer luck that he still doesn't know about Elena!" he glared and then kept on looking away. "We should get rid of him, I don't like it."

He had a point but I knew that it wasn't this that he was so fired up about.

"What's going on Damon? Don't lie to me." I tried carefully following his every move and that's why I didn't jump in surprise when he super sped to me, turning my chair around, my back now towards the table, caging me between his arms. We stared at each other. I said nothing waiting for him to just spill it and trying to stay calm.

"Tell me you have no interest in him." he said, voice low, deep and filled with unrestrained doubt.

So that's what it is all about. Letting out a sigh, I willed myself to not forget the fact that Damon had been betrayed and broken by a certain bitch and he would need to be get proof over and over again that I had no interest in anyone else. He searched for reassurance, for approval. I will give it to him, no matter how often or for how long. I will do it all my life if needed be.

Lifting my hands I gently placed them on his face, bringing him close so that he was on my eye level and he was looking me directly in the eyes.

"I could care less about him." I poured all the conviction in my words. "He might be Tyler's uncle but I don't trust him, I don't really like him. He should stay alive because dead he is more trouble than when breathing and he is a way to get rid of Katherine. There is no choice between him and you, Damon. He was never and would never be an option."

We stared at each other as I watched how his gaze darkened and how it fell on my lips.

"Do you believe me?" I asked.

"Yes." was his immediate response and it filled my heart with happiness, making me smile contently. "Fuck. Yes, I believe you, Addie. And you should know that I don't believe anyone." the admission made my insides warm up and I didn't stop the grin from forming.

"Good." I said.

"Good." he said.

Then we were attacking each other's lips like there was no tomorrow.

Shit. It was always fucking intoxicating and explosive.

* * *

 **Author's note:**

 **Next chapter will be filled with lots of action, dynamics and even time skip...just a small one. New people will show up, plans will be formed, Addie will be in her evil element and would prove just why exactly everyone should fear her when she is on a mission. Oh and let's not forget Stefan, there will be so much Stefan! And more sexy time! Haha!**

 **Trust me when I say that Addie has a way of turning things in her favor, what she has planned would get a reaction out of everyone.**

 **And yes, we will have our detectives find the moonstone, but Katherine should never be underestimated...just like Sheila! She is one hell of a scary grandma!**

 **So what do you think about this update? Steamy no? Ah! Hot, hot! Loved writing it too. It's just that the way I see Addie and Damon their relationship will always be heated up, unexpected and happening anywhere / anytime! They will be uncontrollable. Stefan and Addie would be something else, both boys are romantics one way or the other, but Stefan would be darker, dangerous...the ripper would be big part of it. In no way I'm saying that their relation wouldn't be just as passionate, I only mean it will be different. So you will be able to see two sides of Adelle as well. And omg...what I have in mind for the threesomes...dear Lord! You will love it! Haha.**

 **I can't wait to read your reactions and opinion! Now that Addie, Damon and Stefan are really starting to take form...how should we call them? Addefan? Defanad? Delledefan...OMG, I'm so _bad_ at ship names! Help me out!**

 **Till next time,**

 **Felly ^^**


	19. Chapter 19

Disclaimer

I do not own Vampire Diaries. The O.C. is my original character.

This story will follow the series to some extend, there will be a lot of changes and you will find a partial O.O.C. here.

It will be **rated** **[M]** for future chapters and yes it will be a **Menage love story/Polygamous relationship** , if you don't like please don't read.

I welcome constructive criticism if you would like to help me with that, please write me a P.M too.

Big thanks to my Beta - Angelique Irene _(_ _AOHAD)_ for correcting this chapter! ^w^

 **[!]** Comments. Follows. Any kind of support is highly appreciated. No kidding, it does give the motivation to update faster. ^^

* * *

Chapter 19

Damon was standing behind me the entire way from the car to the boarding house and he barely left any space between us. After my agreement to try and make this thing work...you know what thing? The one where Stefan and Damon were both involved with me? You remember? _Yes, that thing._ After it the vampire had not left my side and was always in my personal space. Normally I would be annoyed but for some reason having him so close made me feel reassured and protected. The ride from the Gilbert's place to here wasn't very long, but it didn't really matter, because while Damon drove with one hand, his other one was holding mine in his lap. Fingers paying with fingers and slow gentle caresses that were innocent but in the same time made my body hot.

I felt a lot better than last night, after sleeping in and eating till my heart was content I had more energy, even if there was still something lacking. At least I didn't look like a ghost. And how could I...especially when the said vampire found numerous ways to make me blush. Like when we were just getting out of his Camaro but he didn't let go of my hand till he had kissed my knuckles.

That sneaky bastard, he knew what he did to me and looked as smug as ever.

Tch.

Now in the Salvatore's home I was met with the other sinful creature. Shit. He had heard us coming and I didn't get the chance to greet him before he had me in his arms, pulling me in to his chest and embracing me in a way that felt like he was reassuring himself I was alright. No one spoke. Then Stefan pushed me gently back and his green _green_ eyes swept over me from head to toe. The younger brother looked distressed and worried for a moment but then when I smiled in reassurance he let out a long sigh as the mere fact that I was okay allowed him to breathe normally.

"What happened?" he spoke and once more before I got the chance to answer Damon stepped from behind me and passed both of us.

It would have been a normal action if he did not do a little gesture in the process.

As he walked around me, his fingers grazed my back, traveling up and over my shoulder then descending over my left arm and skidding to my hand that was connected with Stefan's. Then he looked at me, blue eyes alight and... _happy_ then they moved towards his brother the same time that his fingers caressed mine and then the ex-Ripper's skin. Stefan looked straight towards his brother and the look they shared told me they were having a silent conversation. I didn't have to be a genius to know what it was about, as Damon's ministration went up his sibling's own arm as he passed both of us on his way to go deeper in the house.

The blond man gaped like he could not believe something, eyes moving from the retreating back of the other vampire to me and then back again. He didn't get the chance to voice whatever he wanted as Caroline super sped next to him.

"Adelle!"

Whatever had happened between the three of us was momentary forgotten when I saw my best friend. Then the knowledge she was no longer human hit me hard and I escaped the hold that the vampire had on me and went to hug her with all I got. She gladly returned the notion and a small part of me felt glad that she didn't outright hate me for what happened to her.

"Care, I'm so sorry! I … I …" she squeezed me harder.

"I will let you two talk." Stefan said, smiling a bit in reassurance at us. "Damon and I will be upstairs, discussing some things." before I could answer he was gone, no doubt going after his brother seeking some answers for his behavior. As I knew Damon pretty well, I was sure that while I got to talk with the blond, the brothers would … well… talk about me.

Cue the blushing. Huh. How do I control that?

No. At the moment the cheerleader was more important.

"How are you, Care?" I asked tentatively.

From then on we found ourselves in the living room, sitting on the couch next to each other as the blond poured out everything she was feeling at the moment, I explained some things as well and apologized for hiding this from her. Maybe it was because she was a vampire now and her emotions were skyrocketing and maybe it was because I had such an eventful day yesterday, but we both went through some crying, shouting...laughing.

Yep, totally normal for the two of us.

The entire time neither Salvatore came down. And I was thankful, I needed this alone time with my friend. To make sure she was getting better, that she was getting used to this...and to reassure her that she wasn't on her own.

Let's not forget the fact that her mother was locked down in the basement. And her having a brief talk with her after which Caroline had been left on the verge of lashing out. But then again I promised that even if the Sheriff was going to be compelled now, in the future...one day she would accept her daughter and everything would be okay. I have seen it happening. So I had no doubt of it. Care just didn't have to give up.

And we all know how stubborn she is.

Hours later, after drinking wine, skipping school…..again, and talking each other's ears off, I knew that Caroline Forbes was going to make it. She was already showing great control, hundred times better than Elena's, thanks to her control freak tendencies. And Stefan had educated her a lot in last night. She was now up to date with everything around town. Yeah, she was at first angry at me for lying to her and all that but in the end after seeing my point of view and a lot ...a lot of wine, we were okay. Bonnie had helped too, being all encouraging and what not.

That's when, almost around midday, Tyler and Mason barged in the house, one looking sick, while the other white as a ghost. Just like I expected the Salvatore's got downstairs in a matter of a second, standing in front of me and Caroline who was next to me.

"Should I be teaching you both mutts some manners? And let me tell you I have more unique approach than others." Damon half spat half snarled annoyed.

"Is there a reason as to why you are here?" continued Stefan.

I would have rolled my eyes at their antics if not for how bad the Weres looked right now.

"My father was killed." answered Tyler, brown eyes staring at me, desperation obvious in his gaze. I was already walking towards him, ignoring the unpleasant looks the vampires gave me as I hugged the boy I considered my big brother.

"Ty...I'm so sorry. My God, what happened?" I hugged him around the neck, bringing him closer and the quarterback leaned in burring his head in the crook of my neck, almost suffocating me with how strong his hold was around my mid-section.

It was Mason who answered. His eyes did not leave the brothers, but from time to time he would send worried looks towards his nephew.

"Katherine." the way he growled her name said it all. His voice was full of betrayal, pain and anger. "Another message she said, we were taking too long in finding the moon stone." hissed the wolf. Hah. It looks like he no longer was on her side.

"Oh, cry me a river." answered Damon, ignoring the warning in Stefan's eyes. "It's was own god damn stupidity that led you to actually trust this bitch at all."

The way Mason took a step towards the vampire spoke of the thin tread he was holding on before he lashed out in rage. And the raven haired man was doing nothing to stop it.

"Okay, why don't we calm down." cut in Stefan, hands in the air.

"I agree with Stefan." spoke Caroline who was next to me and Tyler, consoling the boy as well.

"She is getting restless." I said. "First the deputies and Care, now the Mayor...fuck, Ty, I'm so sorry." he shook his head from where he was still hiding it in the crook of my neck. "She is going after our close people, those that are most unprotected."

"And she is smart enough not to show her face here with three vampires waiting for her...at least for the moment." continued Stefan. "But if I know at least one thing about her is that if she is as angry as it appears to be then the Mayor is her first stop today."

"Oh God, Bonnie!" exclaimed Caroline.

"Call her." I told her. "Make sure that she and Sheila are protected or strong enough to take Katherine if needed. But I doubt she would go after a Bennett witch, she is not that stupid." Damon nodded.

"Nor she is suicidal." he said. "Even if I so dearly wished her to be." he finished eyes not looking at me but at the quarterback who was in my hands.

He would have to suck it up.

"Jenna and Jeremy!" I then remembered fear crawling over my body, but before I could panic, Tyler pulled back.

"I called him on our way here, he is with your aunt right now...and my mom." his voice cracked and pained filled me for how devastated he looked right now. "They are at your house...Jenna has been friends with my mother for years so she is taking care of her right now, till we go back." I nodded slowly.

"Bonnie said she is in the Grill making sure that Matt is protected as well. Her Grams is at her house, but there was no reason to panic for her, because Sheila can take care of herself. She also said that we should hurry and find the stone, before more people got hurt." came back the blond after finishing her call with the witch. "She is driving to your house, Addie, something about a locator spell."

"Then we are going too." said Tyler, determination overtaking sadness. "The faster we find this damn thing the faster we catch her and get her to pay for what she fucking did to my father."

So this is how things went after that. Tyler and Mason left to go to my home, where the two along with Bonnie and Jeremy would start the hunt for the moon stone, all the while Jenna distracted the late Mayor's wife with preparations for the funeral. Damon begrudgingly agreed to stay behind and take care of Liz who was ready to be compelled.

All those news made me hurry up with my own plan. I had to achieve it before I told the brothers the entire truth or they would never let me do it. I was going to find a way to steal some alone time to make it work but then a realization hit me like a ton of bricks.

"Oh! No. Ric! Has someone called him today?" I asked in a complete panic the three vampires, but I didn't wait for an answer as I pulled my phone out and called him immediately.

It went straight to voice mail. Shit.

"He...he is not picking up!" now I was a step away from losing it and before Care could even come closer, Stefan was in front of me, gently cradling my head in his big hands, eyes staring at me, serious and honest.

"Calm down, Addie, I'm sure he is okay." I shook my head, not letting his calming voice penetrate me.

"You can't know that!" neither did I. And because of that I felt such fear that it was hard to breath.

"I agree with her, brother." Damon came in the room, probably done with the compulsion. "Take my car and both of you go and see if he is in his apartment."

"Okay let's go." said Stefan, not waiting for me to reply even if I could, pulling me towards the front door. All I could think about was my history teacher and the possibility of him being...being dead.

Fuck. I could not let that happen. Katherine was getting more and more unpredictable as the time went.

During the whole ride, I kept on calling him, ignoring the worried looks Stefan sent me or how fast he drove… Bon, Ty, Jeremy and Mason had found where the stone was and were going after it. I felt guilty too...knowing that midst all the chaos I didn't get the chance to make sure Tyler would get to properly mourn his father's death. I couldn't be there for him right now.

But I knew...I just knew that my little brother was going to give his all to do it instead of me, they had become very close in the past months.

* * *

What we found made my blood freeze. I almost chocked a scream before running with all I got towards the bleeding body of the only father figure I had in this dimension. Ric was half lying half sitting next to his apartment door.

"Alaric!" I exclaimed, gaining his attention, his eyes were lidded, pain obvious on his futures and all I could do was repeat his name like a mantra while my hands skidded over his bloodied shirt. He had been stabbed, but he was conscious.

"I'm..." his voice croaked, eyebrows scrunched, letting out a hiss. "I'm okay...or at least will be."

I nodded dumbly, while looking at him taking the bleeding wrist that Stefan pushed towards him and drinking the healing substance. The vampire's other arm was on my back, moving it up and down in a way that made me calm down a little as we were both in a squat position in front of the hunter.

"Adelle, breath, Ric is healing. He will be fine." spoke softly the Salvatore regarding me with concern. I nodded again, not trusting my voice, but soon my heart started to slow down and it wasn't beating so loud in my ears. The vampire's blood was working and color came back on Ric's skin, his wound closed itself and he could once more breathe without feeling so much pain.

I felt the same way.

Just...just the thought of losing this man, made me sick, made me lose any kind of control over my emotions. I couldn't even dare imagining it. This whole thing made it crystal clear, I loved this man, I loved him like a daughter loved and cherished her father. And while it was now the two of them trying to calm me down, I still could not hear them… The immense relief I felt when Ric was no longer steps away from leaving me was too strong.

I was crying before I knew it. Sobbing without a voice, which was still missing.

"Adelle..." whispered Alaric, eyes softening with each passing second. "Come here..." I didn't wait for more, as I slacked completely in his waiting arms, taking in his scent and warmth, listening to his strong tone as he kept on repeating that he was okay and that Stefan's blood healed him.

Fuck...I knew that, I knew it, but images of him not breathing, of us being too late...of losing him made me cry harder.

Some time passed till I calmed myself. Stefan had to compel away a few tenants who were in the same floor, coming out of their apartments to see what was the commotion about. I didn't let my history teacher go or allowed him to move us away from the floor.

That's when I saw it... His phone. It was next to us, smashed in to pieces. Worry was replaced with rage. Tears with determination.

This...this fucking bitch had attacked one of my close people, left him to die slowly from a stabbing wound, on purpose not finishing him up, so it would be a painful death and breaking his phone so he would be helpless and left with no hope.

She had crossed the wrong person. If before I had a reason to get her, now I would go after her twice as hard, twice as vengeful.

Katherine Pierce, by the time I'm finished with you, you will be begging me for mercy.

That did it. Pulling myself together, I was once again in complete control, eyes hard, hands balled in fists, both men saw it, one was surprised while Stefan looked just as worried as before. He knew me pretty well, no doubt sensing that I was about to do something dangerous.

Like he could stop me.

Like anyone would stop me.

This was the last time this grandma was pulling one over me.

It was my turn.

No more waiting. No more stalling.

We entered Ric's apartment and while the hunter told the vampire how Katherine attacked him and all the details while the same time Stefan told him about the Mayor, I excused myself to go to the toilet.

'I need your help. - Adelle.' it didn't took long till I got a response.

' _You have my attention. - Lexi._ '

'Can you find someone for me? - Adelle.'

* * *

On the other side of the town a car was driving past the welcome sign of Mystic Falls.

One teenager and one quarterback were sitting close together in the back seat, talking in low voices, one looking as angry as devastated, while the other was doing whatever he could to be there for his friend in the wake of the loss of his father. Jeremy knew what Tyler was going through, he had experienced it as well, so he was determined to make sure that he will not be alone.

On the front, the serious witch was looking from time to time in the mirror, sending shaky reassuring smiles at her friends, while she sped up. She completely ignored the wolf next to her, not trusting him at all, but having no other choice but to take him with them. Yes she could burn him alive...and a lot other things just as painful and deadly too, but she doubted that Tyler would feel any better by her act of violence. So Bonnie would put on her big girl pants and would deal with it. The wolf who was looking out of his window, hand clutching the door handle was no match for her, but he was another muscle if they needed him.

Now they had a destination a few hours from here, the witch had succeeded in locating the stone and by the end of the day they would have it. She just hoped that Adelle and her two Salvatore's would hold the front long enough so no one else would get hurt.

What everyone was forgetting was that tonight was the full moon.

That, and they had a car following them a safe distance.

* * *

Sheila Bennett had a lot of thoughts regarding one girl named Adelle Gilbert. And because of that she had a hard time defining her in a certain concrete way. Let it be known that Sheila was an excellent judge of character be it thanks to her witch heritage or just because she had lived a long life and had seen it all. She didn't need a lot of time to decide if she liked someone or not, if she trusted them or not, that's why the middle child of the Gilbert's family was such a mystery to her.

Before the deaths of her parents, Adelle had been such an obvious teenager. She was good, a bit shy but crude too, she was happy and free around anyone. Yes, her mischief was well known around town just like her amazing talent in photography, but if asked Sheila could easily tell you that the girl couldn't lie to save herself. She was as pure as they came. Add to that Sheila's ability to sense energies and the definite white color surrounding her body was the only proof she needed to be sure that the human was good for her granddaughter.

After the accident?

That's a whole another thing entirely.

The first time the witch saw Adelle again, she did a double take. Later she would explain it with the silver hair, but it was far from the truth. By then the Gilbert was already in too deep in the supernatural business and had taken Bonnie with her.

So she had every right to be displeased and angry. Any novice witch would explain the change in the girl with her involvement with the vampires, but Sheila was a master of her senses, so she knew it wasn't that. When she saw Adelle, the girl had changed, so much that for a moment the Bennett thought it wasn't her all together.

Her reasons were numerous. Adelle was darker, more closed off and guarded, she looked around herself with a new set of eyes, eyes that saw the bad and evil in this world, the teenager appeared to have aged astonishingly and with each step she took, the Gilbert was ready for anything. She still had bits of her old self, love for her art, sarcasm and questionable actions, but this time she stared at her family like they were far from her. That had scared the witch, what could bring a young woman to distance herself so much from her close people.

But that wasn't what made the witch's heart skip a beat, no...it was the aura around Adelle.

Or more precisely the _lack_ of color... present in it.

Every creature had one, all she had seen that is. Witch's was always ranging in different tones of green, brown and yellow. The colors of nature. The vampires were red, black and deep purple. Humans? They were like the rainbow, they were not connected in any way to one category as there were bad, good and many personalities meant – colors.

But none? Not ever light white? Or blue? Sheila had never seen this happen, she had never thought it possible. Yes, she admits that she wasn't so ignorant to state that there were only few types of supernaturals around the world. Just like the werewolves, who were hard to find, she was sure that there were others, she just hasn't met them.

So she had done her research … and found nothing. That's why she agreed to help, that's why every other time the girl asked her to assist with something, she participated in it. Sheila wanted to observe her. Bonnie trusted the girl with her life, just like every other person who found themselves in her orbit or was accepted in her circle of close people. It appeared like Adelle could win everyone.

Sheila wasn't an exception.

The more time she watched her, the more she saw her actions, reasons and way of perceiving the world, the more the witch accepted her.

Yes, she still wasn't trusting her completely, not when she was so close to vampires, and since her aura had no color, Sheila couldn't know if she lied to her in her face, but Sheila was certain about one thing, Adelle would do anything to protect her loved ones, Bonnie included. With everything. Even if she had to burn the world down. This young woman was walking a fine line between good and bad and her mystery was bigger than ever.

Sheila had long ago decided not to judge her for who she kept company, just like she did it with Bonnie. Her witch heritage did not like this decision at all, but she would live with it, as long as Adelle kept Bonnie safe, as long as she didn't step completely on either side of the line. Till then, she would only observe, assist and do whatever her granddaughter asks her to.

But Adelle was keeping secrets, so many that Sheila couldn't believe how the girl slept at night. She had a big burden on her shoulders and the witch couldn't imagine herself taking her place...she would have gone insane.

So it was curiosity and pity that led her to agree to connect Addie with the dead witches. And...the fact that no human would be able to do that even with the help of the one and only Sheila Bennett. And when she succeeded, when the Gilbert actually had been accepted in the realm of the supernatural plane… Sheila knew that this girl was no human. She wasn't anything known and her questionable actions and requests just proved it time and time again. But...Sheila still didn't feel threatened, she didn't feel hatred and wrongness when she looked at the teenager and that was the only fact keeping her from taking action.

Because even witches acted like humans when met with the unknown. They wanted to destroy it. But her curiosity was taking the better of her. So she would wait. And it wasn't such a hard choice, because the Bennett was sure that even Adelle had no idea what she was.

And let's be honest, Sheila loved mysteries.

And she had other problems to deal with at the moment. Like for example one Katherine Pierce who had been a torn in the Bennett family for decades. This vampire had always found a way to enslave her ancestors and the bloody commotion she was making in town was far from pleasing to the old witch. This was her town, it was under her protection and if one thing all should know about her kind was that witches were vengeful, they didn't forget when wronged and they always, always made you pay for it. So Sheila had a bone to pick up with this one pathetic excuse of an immortal that to her looked less scary and dangerous then chaotic and afraid.

Never pick on a Bennett.

But first she had to go and see the other new arrival she sensed in her town. Who was no other than her own blood. And there was only one left out of Mystic Falls.

That's how Sheila found herself in a motel at the border of town, knocking politely on door number 214, even if she could smash it to pieces. But she would prefer to get her information straight before taking actions, if only for the courtesy that the woman on the other side was part of her family. The door opened.

"Sheila Bennett, I had been waiting for you." spoke the woman. "I have much to tell you."

"Lucy Bennett, it's been a while." stated the older woman seeing the color of her aura. Dark green, notes of brown. Distress. Anger. "Should I state the obvious or go right to the main question?" a pause, she didn't need an answer. "What does Katherine Pierce has over your head that if I'm not mistaken, which I never am, is forcing you to work for her?"

In response the other witch smiled thinly, showing her displeasure.

"Would you like some tea? We have a lot to discuss and even if that woman has prohibited for me to contact you in any kind of way, she didn't say anything about you coming to me. You made it a lot easier."

"Ah, yes, the vampire had gravely forgotten that witches were masters in finding loop holes in every binding contract." she stepped in. "And yes, a tea would be great as well as all the information you have on her plans on the side, instead of honey or sugar."

Both shared small quirk of the lips, which were anything but innocent.

The door closed behind them.

Soon Katherine would learn her lesson to never fuck with a Bennett.

* * *

We were on our way back to the boarding house.

Ric had taken his own car as I refused to leave him alone, even if the Bitch wasn't invited in his home, I still felt unimaginable fear of the sole prospect of him getting hurt again. The hunter was fine now, but he wanted to see Jenna and stay with her, even if my aunt would be entirely occupied with Carol and funeral...and crying...and all that. But he had been right, no one was to stay alone, not when Kat was raging around town, stirring shit up, totally and unexpectedly losing her cool... Oh, and I had no idea how she had killed Richard Lockwood and how Jenna was covering for the real murderer, as the wife of the mayor had no idea about supernatural.

I was thankful that at least Tyler was not alone at the moment, the search for the stone was a good distraction and they still had few hours till they reached the town in which I hid that thing.

Million things were going through my mind. Emotions were high and I had hard time keeping it up. My falling apart half an hour ago aside...I was awaiting for a call, a call that I had to take without any of my vampire friends hearing...a call after which I had to get out of town with no one stopping me. Ideas, schemes….lies… how do I get out of them all? I knew that this was my last act before I told both Salvatores the whole truth. Fear of their reaction was bubbling under my skin, fear of leaving Mystic Falls and failing in my quest, in dying without succeeding in protecting the people I came to love so much. Fuck for all I knew while I'm gone shit would hit the fan... _again,_ and this time Katherine would take someone from me for real. So many things could go wrong, it was maddening.

I had changed everything from the start, correcting, replacing, switching up...whatever came to mind I did it, and because of that now I was on my own, there was no more a strict guide, a written script I could follow, all of that went flying out of the window and it had finally hit me.

The realization I was no longer in control of the things around me. Not to the extent I wished for. But wasn't that why I had crafted this entire plan from the moment I came here? So that even if it was out of my hands, those people I cherished so much would have a way to win, a group to lean on. The Scooby gang was closer than ever, or at least in comparison to the original. They made plans together, they informed one other, yes there was still some animosity but no one wished the others death. This harmony was achieved far in the future in the show...if ever really, so I had to constantly remind myself that I didn't need to control their every move, to know everything, I only needed to trust them. And I did, I fucking did, and that was scariest thing to admit.

Because now I could seek help from them all, I could lean on them for support, something I have never done in my life, this or my previous one.

And this fact in itself was just as terrifying.

The car pulled over.

We were nowhere near the boarding house. If anything Stefan had stopped on the side of the road, where there was nothing around us.

Stefan.

I had barely spoken to him today. Be it because I was distracted or because I was afraid of what he will tell me, but I found it hard to even open my mouth. Not when he watched me the entire time, never looking away for a second if he could, not when so many emotions were going through his green _green_ orbs.

"Adelle, please talk to me." he spoke, voice almost pleading, eyes betraying a great deal of concern. All I could do was watch him as he removed his seat belt and then mine, and that's when I realized how far away I was from him. In fact I was glued to my door, like I wanted to be nowhere near him. Shit. "You don't look okay. Is this still about yesterday? Do you want me to drive you home and let you sleep, just...tell me what you want." how have I made him be so desperate? The guilt that hit me was harsh. He didn't deserve any of it.

"Stefan..." my voice cracked and I winced. And here it is, his green gaze got even more scared for me.

I moved towards him, the compartment was still separating us, but I could reach him easily now. Not waiting, I lifted my right hand and placed it on his face. My heart soared when the vampire didn't even hesitate before leaning in it.

Get it together, Ad, you will think of something later, now Stefan is the most important thing you have to worry about.

It wasn't comfortable in the front seats, I had limited access to him and all I wanted was to be close, to reassure both of us that I was okay, that we were okay. And I knew we needed to talk, after last night, after Damon and I, I had to see where we were standing. And what better time than the present, for all I knew I could be dead tomorrow.

"We need too..."

"Yes, I know."

A pause and after that I silently gestured him to follow me. That's how, I moved on the back seat, too lazy and emotionally tired to get out of the car, I did it from inside. Yes, I was almost going to break my neck, as I was the farthest thing from coordinated, and when Stefan came to sit next to me he had an amused smile on his face. But to hell with him, not everyone could be so fucking graceful and perfect.

Huh.

Now we were facing each other, no obstacles between us and my right leg was tucked under me, touching his thigh. We were as close as it was possible before losing any sense of semblance.

"Did Damon tell you what…?"

"He did." he answered easily.

"Everything?" that's when Stefan pursed his lips and my breath hitched in fear of him reacting badly, of being disappointed and angry. Of ruining their relationship, of …

"Yes, he was quite detailed in his explanation." then he smirked half amused half...what was that? Feral? Shit, I was about to let out a sigh but that went flying out the window when the whole mood around us turned around in one eighty. If it was possible there would be lightning going off in the air, the way he looked at me, it was one big range of emotions, passion sizzling on top of everything else.

The way his eyes darkened...and here I am blushing again.

I would have been annoyed with my own reaction if I wasn't so lost in the vampire next to me. The way he acted...or fought not to act, reminded me of his brother, but when Damon was playful, cheeky, Stefan was darker...more overpowering in the sense of me having no power at all.

"I don't know what to say." good going Adelle...you and your big mouth sprouting shit when no one needed you to.

The younger Salvatore teared his eyes away from me and the way he did it appeared like he had to force himself to do it. Stefan leaned back on the seat, head pulled back, gazing at the rooftop of the car. On hand was bawled in a fist, while the one closest to me, was firmly placed on his leg, inches away from my own body. I didn't miss the way his fingers twitched. And I didn't fight back the sense of fucking satisfaction when I realized he had a hard time keeping his hands to himself.

"Then let me talk." Stefan said, voice going few octaves lower, gruff. I nodded, even if I wasn't sure he saw it.

A car passed. Neither payed it any attention.

"I have feelings for you, Adelle." my heart stopped. "I have had them for a while now, maybe even since the day I met you." his eyes refused to look at me and a part of me was thankful, because I would have not been able to take it. "Maybe I am in love with you already, who knows. What I'm sure of though, is that I want you. I want everything that you are, everything that you represent and everything you make me feel and _be._ I want to keep basking in your light, the same light that made me accept myself entirely, that showed me peace was something I deserve and could achieve. You push me, surprise me, anger me, make lose my control and I like it, I like everything good and bad you make me experience. But what's more? I want to be the same to you, to be the person who you could trust without doubt, share your secrets, lean on. I want to protect you as much as you protect me."

My hands were trembling. My heart was beating in my ears, all I could do was stare at him astonished and be at his mercy. At the mercy of his words.

"I want so much more from you, that I almost feel ashamed of myself. Almost. And I'm not the only one, Damon is as lost as I am. You already know about our agreement, but if you have any doubt, you shouldn't, because I, just like my brother, am more than okay with it, even better, it's the best solution to what is happening. Damon is shit when it comes to explaining it, so if you don't mind I will do it instead of him." he paused, orbs just for a brief second sweeping towards me but then momentary returning to the roof.

"I...I… Stefan." great I lost my vocabulary in such an important moment.

He chuckled.

"Tell me Adelle, how do you feel about me?" I pushed myself to be brave and talk.

"I want you, I want everything you are willing to give me and then bargain for some more. I'm greedy, Stefan, and when I feel so strongly about you...I can't control it, I can't make it stop. Everything you promised me, you have no idea how happy it made me hearing it. Because I would take it, I wish for the same. Maybe some time in the future, when I haven't lost half the alphabet, I would be able to tell you just how much I like you, how consuming are my emotions for you are. But now, you need to know that I do trust you with my life, with my happiness and heart, with my family too. And that's a lot, that's too much and it scares me how ready I am give myself to you and Damon, how easy it feels to let it go and be with you. That's why I agreed to try, even with the fear inside of me, the doubts of someone ending up getting hurt and all the shit that is happening right now outside this car, I still am ready to risk it." taking in a deep breath I took his hand, clasping it in both mines the action making his head snap in my direction, now he was fully looking at me. Eyes blazing with passion and love. "You have no idea, no idea how terrified I am to let myself go. Control is what makes me function most of the times, it kept me grounded, but this same control is completely shattered when it comes to you, to Damon. Worse, I give it up completely to you. You. That on itself is the biggest proof I could propose for how I feel about you, Stefan."

We stare at one another.

"What about Damon?"

"The same. I want him too, even if guilt is eating me alive, even if people would frown at me, would judge me, hate me. I can't stop myself, I don't want to. And I don't feel bad about it, which on its own makes me a bad person. But...it's either both or neither at all. Yes, you two are completely different, but that's what I love about it, you bring two different sides of me, push me, pull me, I love it, I gladly drown in it, Stefan. Because I love, I adore who you are, bad and good, with all the imperfections, with all the flaws and hardships you have both gone through. That's why choosing just one of you feels like I am tearing a part of me into shreds."

"Adelle..." I shook my head, I still had to say something.

"Damon and you, you had taken from me while the same time giving me twice as much. Before I knew it both of you, bastards, had become an irreplaceable part of me, of my life and heart. How do you expect me to cope with one of you being away? Or not as close as the other?"

"We won't. We are not going anywhere, Addie. As long as you want us, as long as you are okay to be shared." I nodded.

"I have been ready for some time now."

"Good, because it will be hard." he said, leaning in. "We will fight, we will make mistakes."

"I'm fine with that as well." he smirked. The Ripper was more obvious now.

"Damon and I...we are handful, as you said we are bastards, we are monsters, _vampires._ It will be a full time job, I doubt either of us will leave you alone if we had the chance. I'm speaking on behalf of both of us when I warn you that..." Stefan was now inches away from me, faces close as much as it was possible without me kissing him, or him ravishing me. "Once ours, there will be no one else." his eyes were beseeching, dark, feral, willing me to understand. "This will work, we will make sure of it, but I can't promise you that we won't be possessive, that it won't be hard for you especially when the mere thought of you touching another man makes me see red. In time you will find out that you are dealing with not only two, hot headed, obsessed with you men, but two blood thirsty for everything you _are_ vampires. _Animals._ Are you really sure about this, Adelle? I'm giving you a way out now, but this will be the last one. Then there will be none, you will be stuck with a Ripper and the incarnation of the sarcastic insufferable Devil himself."

I was so lost in him, that I didn't know when he had caged me with his body.

But I didn't give a damn, because what Stefan was willing to give me, what he and his brother were proposing to me...it made me hot all over my body. Consumed. Lost. Overpowered. Completely overwhelmed. And fuck, it felt fantastic.

"Yes. Yes, I want it, you, both of you and everything in between. Yes."

That's all he needed before he quite literally pounced on me like the feral animal he said he was. Dark orbs blazing with satisfaction, with passion and lust.

With triumph.

"Then it's my time to mark you, Adelle." his voice could not get any more sinful.

Soon I found myself on my back, lying fully on the seat with Stefan looming over me, hands placed on either side of my head, eyes looked at my own, then my lips and then lower. He growled and I couldn't wait any longer for him to have his fill of me. I lifted my hand, placed it on the back of his head and pulled him down, smashing our lips in a frenzy kiss, filled with so much heat that I felt light headed.

That's when he snapped and I followed after him.

While one of my arms was around his neck the other desperately traveled up and down his muscled back, satisfaction souring in me when they contracted in contact with me. His own hands were all over my body, touching exploring, learning. I didn't stop him, loving how good it felt to be caressed by him.

Our kiss was getting deeper and deeper, his soft lips clashing with mine and I fucking couldn't get enough. Soon I wanted more, but Stefan was faster, as his tongue came out and glided it across my swollen bottom lip. But he didn't wait for me to open my mouth, no, the vampire forcefully pushed them apart, domination clear in his actions, the Ripper mingling with the human. And I loved every second of it, I loved giving him full control as he battled with my own tongue, as he explored every corner of my mouth, forcing out of me moan after moan. The whole time he was staring at me, just like I did him, willing to remember this moment for the rest of our existence.

My head was clouded with passion, there was hardly any place he wasn't touching, but I wanted him closer, I wanted to feel more and just like before the vampire anticipated it, he read me like a damn book. His left hand pulled away from where it was threaded in my hair and it slid down, leaving on its path goose bumps and lava-like sensation in my stomach. Then it was on my leg, gently but firmly with me having no way of defying him, pushing it away so he could now lie in between. This same leg was then pulled up and I knew what he wanted. In seconds it was around his midsection, while the other was lying flat on the seat. This helped me bring him closer. And now both our lower part were touching.

The friction was heavenly. And I expressed it with uncontrolled gasp as the vampire did not waste a second before grinding his bulging covered member against me. His hand hadn't moved from where it was holding my leg, no, even better he kept it gliding up and down my jeans covert skin, while he was leaning his entire weight on the second one. The same one that was now in my hair, pulling it back, making me move as well giving him a better access to my lips and neck.

Shit.

Was I mewing?

Needing to breath I pulled back, but he didn't mind. Stefan continued lavishing my skin, traveling down, kissing, biting, lapping and then some more. I didn't wait either, as both my hands were now under his shirt, pulling it up and over his head, giving me access to those sinful abs and his perfect light bronze skin.

"Adelle..." he groaned, when I used my nails to scratch his abdomen, getting drunk on the strangled noises he gave me in return and repaying me with twice the passion as he kept on kissing me. He had now pulled down my blouse exposing my bra.

My hands traveled lower following his trail of light hair which disappeared below his pants. I couldn't let that stop me and before I knew it, my finger were working on his belt. Stefan hissed, buckling before biting with human teeth the swell of my left breast on the exact same place where the now permanent mark from his brother was.

I didn't stop, though, soon I was working on his zipper.

"Addie." he whispered.

"I want to." was all I could say and the grunt that left him when I finally touched his boxers exactly over his bulge told me he was not going to protest any longer. But that didn't mean he would be out shined. No. With his free hand, faster than I could comprehend he had grabbed the front of my bra and pulled it down, exposing my breast for him to look however much he liked. I only squealed in surprise and when the cold air hit my exposed skin I knew that my nipples were hardening.

Shit. I should feel more embarrassed or insecure, but the way Stefan looked at me…. Like…

"You are breathtaking." he told me, eyes willing me to believe how truthful he was and I knew it as well. All I managed was a smile, a warm small smile conveying how much I felt for him.

Fuck...it was overwhelming. Thank God he didn't let me think longer, because in the next second he had one nipple in his mouth and I let the highest pitched moan I could manage. The fucker, he was smirking. I felt it against my skin, the vampire made me lose my mind as he started playing it with his tongue adding to the amazing feeling

"Stefan!" his hand, the one not in my hair, supporting his above me, was now fondling shamelessly my other breast. Not letting it be ignored. I fought with myself not to grab his hair with all I got and hold on tight as he made me melt with each stroke of his sinful tongue. But no, I had a better use for them. One was on his muscled ass, happy to feel him like the pervert I was, while the other I used to pull down his underwear exposing his member to my eyes.

Oh my…

"Shit, Addie." Stefan groaned, mouth leaving its previous destination to let out a string of profanities as I didn't hesitate to grab his penis and tug. "Fuck!" he growled. "Tighter." I obeyed the command. And his eyes snapped open, red, veins under them, attacking my lips like they were his sole reason to live. And I answered with the same fervor. He kept his hand on my chest, not stopping his ministrations but now we were in a battle of who would take charge of the kiss. He won. And I had no problem with it.

My mind was clouded with lust, basking in the knowledge of how I made him feel, of the sounds I tore from him and the way his vampire features drank me in, being both feral as an animal and passionate as the Stefan I had fallen for. His fangs were gliding up and down my neck and I tilted my head back to let him have more space to explore. All the while his eyes went from looking at me to watching the way I pumped his penis.

His member was huge, it was long and thick and if I could I would be embarrassed by the sheer aspect of it being real, the light hair around it was neatly trimmed. I was enticed by the sensitive head that was almost red right now, letting out precum which I used as a lube to ease up my ministration. I listened to each sound Stefan made, how fast, how tight, where to pay longer attention, how to swirl my wrist around the top, making him lose any sense of words. I loved every second of it. I loved how hard he was but the soft skin on top was metaphorically burning my palm. I loved how when I moved my finger under the head just over the crease he would buckle and groan in my ear, panting with unrestrained passion. I loved how his length would twitch, how the man above me had no control over his reactions when he would move in tact with me, hands holding me for dear life, bruising and his vampire features coming and going again and again. One moment he would be kissing me, then he would be hissing my name trough his extended fangs. And I kept on pleasuring him, because not only did I make him feel amazing, but the prospect of giving him so much ecstasy pleased me immensely.

He was getting closer, his movements were more frantic, his voice more tangled, his hold stronger, his kissed harsher.

"A-Adelle..."

"Let go, Stefan, let go for me." I spoke in a whisper, throat dry, heart beating in my ears, breathing erratic. And I was now speeding up my hand, working up him to a completion.

Then he came. His whole body shuddered, hips buckling in my hand, my other one still on his ass feeling his muscles contract, just like the ones on his stomach and the most beautiful sound coming from his mouth. All for me to hear, to remember, to see. His face showed such bliss, such satisfaction and pleasure that I couldn't help but smile. His cum was in my hand and I didn't mind, as I used it to extend his orgasm as long as I could.

"Please, Addie..." and just like Damon, I knew what he wanted.

"There is no need to ask, Stefan."

He didn't wait for more, and soon enough he was biting me just above the mark his brother left on my left breast. I was prepared for the pain, I was prepared for the pull too, but it still made me gasp. It still hurt, but it was a small price to pay for the way the vampire relished in the taste of my blood. He didn't let any drop go to waste and I was glad because I already had one ruined shirt from last night. Trying to distract myself, I tucked his softening member in his underwear and slowly started closing his jeans as well as tying up his belt. He reacted to every touch from me making me smile.

Soon after the ex-Ripper pulled away, tongue extending to close the wound. Then he was looking up straight at me while kissing the mark he left for me to wear my entire life. It made me shudder.

"My turn." his husky deep voice said and I mewed in the prospect of the bliss that would soon hit me, to the promise of completion he would give me just the same way I did.

That's when my phone rang.

I groaned. Stefan cursed. Trying to grab it, the vampire hissed in displeasure.

"Don't."

"It must be something important."

"God damn it." he cursed lowly, making me laugh at the normally composed man above me. His eyes narrowed playfully at me.

"Laugh now, tonight we will be continuing from where we left it. That I promise you, Addie." again I shuddered.

"Okay." I tried to compose myself, but the vampire pushed my hands away and glared at me in a warning. He was the one to clothe me. I didn't protest. Slowly not for a second looking away from me, orbs clouded with lust, the younger Salvatore leaned down and kissed his healing mark again.

"So beautiful." he murmur, making me blush as he went down and kissed the bite his brother left and then my pert nipple.

"Stefan!"

"Shh. Don't you dare move." I complied immediately.

The vampire then moved towards my other breast, kissing it too, before, slowly, very slowly he lifted my bra and placed it gently over my chest, covering me. Thankfully the still red wound was above the fabric and it wasn't going to be scratched from it. After my underwear he pulled my blouse as well. Not saying anything he leaned back, now sitting, and taking me with him so I would be between his legs this time around. Smiling gently, Stefan then glided his fingers through my hair, trying to control the mess he himself had made making me laugh.

I did the same for his locks too, both smiling gently at each other… My heart soaring with love by how happy this man made me feel.

"Good?" I asked referring to my white hairdo. He nodded.

"Good?" he asked the same question and I nodded just as seriously as him...even if a bit mockingly.

And then we were kissing again. And again. And again. Grand contrast to the domination he showed me just few minutes ago. But I adored it just as much.

My phone rang again. He groaned and I held back my own annoyance.

Leaning in I kissed him for a last time before saying.

"Later."

"Later." he repeated.

Then he helped me climb back on the front seat following close behind.

 _'It's done. - Lexi.'_

I fought back my natural reaction to stiffen rigidly when I read the message.

"Stefan?" I turned to the vampire, who was starting the car, promising myself that this will be the last time I would lie to him or his brother, that this would be the last time I would deceive them like that.

"Who was it?"

"Jenna. She wants me to go home for the rest of the day, Jeremy is out of town and she would feel safer if I was around her." he looked at me battling with himself to let me out of his sight.

"Are you sure?" I nodded, gulping down the guilt. I was doing it for them.

"Yeah, I would like to see how she is holding on, Carol and Alaric would be there as well." he wasn't happy but in the end he agreed.

"Call me if anything happens, one of us will come tonight, while the other looked after Caroline." I grinned.

"Or better yet, you will bring me to the boarding house, when everyone falls asleep?" Stefan chuckled.

"Even better."

Soon after that, he left me in front of my home, waiting for me to go in before speeding towards the boarding house. Not before kissing me one last time that is.

I greeted everyone, made an excuse that I would be going after the vampire soon enough, just stopping by to take my car and my bag. I made sure that Jenna was okay, that Alaric was good too, I spoke briefly to Carol and soon enough I was running out of the door.

They were all going to kill me. Kill me! Fighting over the rational part of my mind, I sped up my car, past my house, past the center, past the welcome sign. They would throw more than a tantrum, I sure as hell was certain that Stefan and Damon would be the worst, but I would take it, I would take it all in the name of making sure no one else would get hurt.

I hoped everyone would understand.

* * *

They were finally there.

"Hey we've been here!" almost shouted in surprise Jeremy.

That grabbed everyone's attention and when Tyler looks to his surroundings he couldn't help but agree with his friend.

"What?" Bonnie asked, parking her car as near as she could find to the place where the moon stone was.

"The two of us and Adelle came here a while back. Ad called it a surprise trip and on the campus of the local college there was some festival." shared the quarterback. "We … we had a lot of fun that day." he continued with a wistful expression on his face, remembering how they partied all day while doing crazy things forced by his almost-sister.

Jer looked worriedly at the other boy and felt pity for the guy. He couldn't control himself when he placed a hand on his shoulder, giving him a reassuring squeeze. The youngest Lockwood leaned in unconsciously and smiled thinly at the Gilbert.

That was the moment when Jeremy decided that he would do anything to create more and more fun times for his friend. If it means following his sister's bizarre ideas, then so be it, but he will make the other teen smile as freely as he did when they were last here.

Unknown to the two boys, they were being observed by Mason and Bonnie. For some reason they both felt like intruding on a private moment and when they looked at one other, it appeared that they shared the same opinion.

Tyler and Jeremy were closer than either expected. Did Adelle know about it?

Nahh...

If she did, neither teen would live it down. She would embarrass them whenever she got the chance. And for all they knew, the boys were not aware of it as well.

"Okay let's go." Mason said louder then he wanted. Bon nodded in silent agreement.

In less than a few minutes the four found themselves in front one of the college buildings. Bonnie had a bad feeling about this, her gut was screaming at her that this would not end well, goose bumps crawled over her skin and she felt like someone was watching them, but a look around showed there was no one.

"Are you sure about this place?" asked the wolf.

"Yes." the witch answered annoyed that he was questioning her competency.

"How did the moon stone get here?" it was hard for Tyler to imagine it. If his uncle wasn't lying to him, then the last time the magical item was seen it had been in their house, and this town was far away and too random for it to be a coincidence.

Jeremy didn't miss the way Bonnie's body was all stiff or how Mason was gazing around like there was someone, they were putting him on edge and he didn't like it one bit.

"Okay, just...let's get it over with, before someone loses his cool here." he said and went through the doors. "Show the way, Bon Bon."

Five floors up and they were now facing a door, a door on which there was a sign – 'Prof. Donald Barino.'

"It's empty and locked." stated Mason. Bonnie rolled her eyes and pushed him with little regard for how he reacted.

Psh. Amateurs. The witch had spent too much time with Addie not to know how to pick on a lock or how to trespass illegally even if she would never admit it. They had done so many crazy things when together and when her friend had drank too much coffee that the Bennett was an expert and she could even do it using magic.

One. Two...There. It clicked. With too much pride in order to be healthy, Bonnie pushed the door open and waked in like she hadn't surprised the life out the three guys behind her.

"Don't tell me...Ad?" groaned Jeremy.

"Why would you think..." started Mason but was interrupted by the collective snorts of his nephew and the witch, while Jer explained with a smirk on his face.

"Oh… it's nothing, she sometimes calls me to help her enter someone else's house, like the Salvatore's." at the flabbergasted look he got from the wolf he patted him mockingly on the back and said. "Don't worry, if you plan on staying in town, you would sooner or later find for yourself what we are talking about."

"I..." the older Lockwood was stopped once again.

"It's in here. I can feel its magic." said Bonnie, pointing at the big aquarium.

"Let me get it." asked Tyler and didn't wait for confirmation before pulling up his sleeves and getting towards the said fish tank.

"I don't get it. Who and why would hide the stone here? Does anyone know this professor?" asked Jeremy looking more and more suspicious about this _fishy_ business.

"Got it!" exclaimed Ty, throwing it in the hands of the witch, but he didn't get the chance to make another move, before two figures swept in super speed in the room, making the four friends panic.

"Tyler!" shouted Mason when he saw that a woman was behind him, holding his nephew around the neck, not allowing him to breath.

"Motos…!" the witch was about to chant but stopped immediately when the second vampire grabbed Jeremy and exposed his own neck, fangs out, inch away from the skin.

"Ah! Ah! Witch. You will stay quiet or both of your friends will die before you can finish with your spell. The same goes to you, wolf. You are far from fast against me." spoke threateningly the woman, making the two supernaturals feel fear for their close ones.

"Who are you?" sneered Mason, trying to control his anger that was… that was stronger than normal. Shit. Tonight is the full moon, with everything happening today he had forgotten and judging by the anger his nephew's eyes shown, he got the same problem, even worse than him, as he had no experience even if not full werewolf.

"My name is Rose-Marie and this is my lover Trevor, we don't want to hurt anyone but we will if you don't do what we tell you to." Rose introduced herself.

"What do you want?" asked Jeremy trying hard not to move.

"The moon stone, you give it without a fight and we will be gone." answered the female.

"Why do you want it?" questioned Bonnie, thinking of a way to take them both down and not endanger her friends.

"It's the only way we can buy our freedom back." spat Trevor he then shared a look with his lover and nodded, letting her explain even if he found it unnecessary, but Rose had a kind heart, if she could get the stone the peaceful way, she would do it.

"It started more than five hundred years ago..." and that's how in the space of few minutes the gang found out about Katherine, how she turned, the names of two of the most deadly and indestructible creatures and how they had been running and hiding from them...just like the woman who was stirring bloody problems in their own town. They now knew why Katherine was after the moon stone and Elena, why she had played Mason...to use him for the sacrifice. Bonnie felt such unimaginable fear when she realized that even if the vampire didn't know Elena was just like her and there would be no lifting of a curse...she now knew that soon Katherine would be their lesser problem. This Klaus and his brother Elijah...how could they defend themselves from them? How could they survive Klaus rage when he finds out that his last chance to become half wolf half vampire were long gone? And this Elijah...he hated the three old vampires. If Pierce was so scared of him and faked her death...what chance did they have?

"How did you know we were here?" asked Bonnie, giving her friends more time to come to the same facts she now had.

"We have been watching all of you for some time, we searched a way to free ourselves and you gave it to us, it's better if you give the stone to us, witch, we will leave you alive, something Katherine would not be so gracious to do." this was their last warning, they knew it and they had no other choice.

"Okay! Okay!"

"Bonnie, what are you doing?" shouted Jeremy but he was in no place to protest because next thing he knew all chaos broke loose.

The witch threw the magic item at Rose, who let go of Tyler, stepping back and Trevor following her lead, but then through the opened door barged in a man in his fortieslooking like a crazed animal, blood on his neck and shoulder, pale and with a feral glazed stare in his eyes.

"What...?" asked Trevor, but then they all watched as the man, who from the photos on the desk near them was the professor in this office, ran towards Tyler, attacking him with the intention of killing him.

"Tyler!" Mason and Jeremy both shouted in horror as he start pummeling the younger Lockwood, pushing him to the ground and throwing a hit after a hit on his face. They both ran to him, barely hearing Rose voice filled with fear.

"He is compelled!" she shouted and that's when another figure swept in the office and the next thing Bonnie saw was Trevor lying on the ground, after a sick crack of a sound sounded around them, his head rolling away from his dead body.

"No! Trevor!" screamed in horror Rose as she saw her lover being killed in front of her eyes.

Mason was rooted in place, white as a sheet as he forgot to help his nephew leaving him to Jeremy, who couldn't separate the two men who were now both fighting, as Tyler had been consumed with anger influenced by tonight's full moon.

"I will kill you!" growled the quarterback not listening to Jeremy who was trying to stop him. The rest of the people in the room could only look from them to the one and only Katherine Pierce, who stood over the dead body looking pleased and very much deadly.

"Aren't you all just precious? I hope I'm not interrupting your rendezvous, but really I couldn't help myself." she smirked watching each and every one of them, relishing in their shocks and fear. The rage and the intent to kill was suffocating the air and she basked in the glory of it, loving how her dramatic entrance made them speechless. She was well known for that.

"Katherine!" screamed Rose, losing her composure barging towards her. They were both old, strong and Kat had killed Trevor thanks to the sense of surprise, but Rose was experienced, she could take her. Too bad she forgot about the witch, who was losing her own control after witnessing this grotesque murder and the fact that this woman who looked exactly like Elena was the sole reason of her hardships.

She started chanting. Both women screamed in pain as they felt their heads explode like set on fire, Mason could only watch his previous lover, the one he thought he loved with all his heart and was ready to die for, act like a monster, betray him time and time again. His composure snapped as he too attacked her.

A scream full with terror coming from Jeremy made Bonnie concentration waver. That was all Katherine needed before she plunged her hand in Rose's ribcage, grabbing her heart making her immobile and at the same time with her other hand, enclosing it around the neck of the wolf. All in the span of seconds.

What distracted the witch made her want to throw up. There on her right Jeremy had collapsed on the floor, eyes big with shock as he watched his best friend unknowingly lost in his anger kill the compelled professor. When the body fell on the ground, it was that moment when the now full wolf snapped out of his rage induced fight.

"No...no no no no! No!" he shouted in disparity realizing what he had done, fear and shock consuming him. Hatred towards himself shaking him to the core. He had killed, he had killed a man, he had been forced to, he had lost control.

"Tyler..." whispered in a strangled voice Jer, not knowing what to do, he had failed to stop the quarterback. Katherine had succeeded yet again in fucking his friend's life. First his uncle, then his father...and now this? This?

"Congratulations are in order I suppose." grinned maliciously the Petrova. "It gets better I promise you. Be a dear little witch Bonnie and don't move or both of them die right now." she promised, tightening her hold around Mason's neck, who could only watch his nephew going through the most painful and ground shaking moment of his life. How could he have been so stupid to fall for this monster? It was all his fault.

And now he couldn't even speak as Tyler shook like a leaf, looking sick and steps from crying.

"You bitch!" spat Bonnie, never feeling so much hatred and disgust towards another being, not thinking it was possible. But for Katherine she would make an exception.

"Oh, don't be so harsh little witch! It's your problem that you can't control those mutts. Mason, I'm disappointed in you, we had such a satisfying relationship but you just had to go and stab me in the back!" Rose let out a gurgle, blood seeping from her mouth, slowly dying with each squeeze the other vampire made around her frantic heart.

"Now! Even if I love to see how this would all go, I have to visit my two favorite boys, so I don't have time to lose. This is how it's going to work. You all let me take the moon stone and I leave with no interruptions, in return I let you live for a little longer. Understood?" no one spoke, no one reacted. "Good!"

Then with her full force she pushed Mason making him fly across the room hitting the wall with a grunt. With her now free hand, not for a second looking away from Bonnie and as fast as a vampire could move, she took the stone from Rose and grinned even more.

"It was great pleasure meeting you all. Till next time!" she saluted mockingly but before she sped away she pulled her bloody hand from Rose's chest.

It wasn't empty. No. Rose fell on the ground slowly turning gray as she desiccated, hole gaping where her heart should have been but it was now in the clutches of Katherine.

"Oops! I lied." she chuckled and then threw the heart with little to none regard on the floor.

Then she was gone.

Leaving behind a roaring enraged Mason, sick full wolf Tyler, terrified Jeremy and Bonnie...who knew that they were in big problem as the sun was setting up and the moon...the full moon would, in less than an hour, be shining brightly in the sky.

* * *

I neared a figure leaning on a car left on the road. The female saw me stopping, waving a hand while approaching me.

The passenger's door opened and a grinning Lexi took a sit next to me. Then we were driving once again.

"It's been a while, Addie." she winked, making herself comfortable.

"It's good to see you, Lex." we smiled at each other. "Where to?" I asked.

"Don't worry! We will need a whole hour till the meeting point. You know? The perfect amount of time for you, sweetie to explain to me why in the fucking hell I had to contact one if not the most deadly vampire on this planet and initiate a meeting with him on your behalf?! Oh! And let's not forget the fact that I had to keep it secret from Stefan, who by the way I bet has no idea you are here, on your way to make some kind of deal with the Devil himself!"

"Lexi..."

"Don't you Lexi me! Do you know who he is? I have never met the guy, but for those who have lived to tell the tale, he is not someone to mess around! I just only told Stefan yesterday about him and his fucked up family! Do you know how hard it was to find any information on them? And he of course tells you all about it! Like Stefan didn't know you would do something stupid with this knowledge!"

He didn't tell me. But it was a good excuse of as to how I knew of the existence of an original.

"Katherine Pierce is in Mystic Falls, killing and hurting the people I care about and she has a lot more planned for all of us, if you are right and he is as strong as you say he is, then he would help us get rid of her."

"Why would Elijah Mikaelson do that? What could he possibly gain from it?"

"The bitch and the moonstone." I answered.

"Come again?"

It was time to tell another lie. All Lexi would know is that the moonstone would be given to Elijah, as he would no doubt want something so magically induced, he would get Katherine too who had wronged him, which was a lie as well, as I told her I found about it from Isobel. Isobel had informed me that Katherine was running from the original and I would just present him the possibility of getting what he wants.

She wasn't okay with it, but she still believed me.

And that was enough for me. She wasn't going to be in the meeting with us.

Convincing Elijah Mikaelson was another thing entirely. Only time would tell how this will turn out.

"I can't wait to see the reaction of your Salvatores when you get back, Addie, I will be sure to bring popcorn."

* * *

 **Author's note:**

 **OMG! Poor, poor Tyler! Katherine pulled one hell of a trick on our scooby gang! Next time you will see how the night of the full moon will go. There will be trouble as we would have two uncontrollable** **werewolves, one witch and a kid that refuses to leave. There will be action I promise you that!**

 **Did you see what I did there, in the car? With Jer and Ty? Huh? Huh? I can't help myself! Just...teens...boys...ugh! I have been hinting it for a while too! *winky face*...** **wink-** **wink-** **wink xd** **  
**

 **We saw some Sheila POV as well, I loved writing her as she gave us another hint of what could Adelle possibly be. (No fairies here!) And I think it was interesting to see her opinion on our main girl as well as some Bennett power and pride moment!**

 **Oh! Oh! And there is no way to forget the steamy encounter between Ad and Stefan! What do you think? Emotional? Hot? Passionate!? And they spoke some serious shit too! Ahhaha! From now on things would get even better. Heheh!... MUAHAHAH! Pfft. Sorry, just got excited imagining the smuuuuut to come!**

 **Kitty Kat is stirring problems, too bad she is messing with the wrong people. Next chapter we are finally meeting her head on, there would be a memorable interaction between her and certain someone...or two. Ha! And Sheila is cooking some mojo-jojo stuff on her own. And yeah….ELIJAH WILL SHOW UP! Finally! This will change vastly the dynamics! Kekekekukuku!**

 **Many thanks to everyone who gave me ideas for the ship name of our lovely trio! All were amazing but after some thinking, I decided that the one I liked the most and was easiest to pronounce and remember was….**

 **SALVADELLE! Yep! SALVADELLE! SALVADELLE! SALVADELLE! It has nice ring to it, no? Thank you – RenTenTen for coming up with it!**

 **That's all for now, guys, thank you very much for the support and for being patient while waiting for my updates. Uni is overwhelming and I made the mistake of watching the last few episodes of TVD and they made me so angry that I lost my muse for a while. Ugh! What are the producers doing with this show?**

 **Till next time,**

 **Felly ^^**


	20. Chapter 20

Disclaimer

I do not own Vampire Diaries. The O.C. is my original character.

This story will follow the series to some extend, there will be a lot of changes and you will find a partial O.O.C. here.

It will be **rated** **[M]** for future chapters and yes it will be a **Menage love story/Polygamous relationship** , if you don't like please don't read.

I welcome constructive criticism if you would like to help me with that, please write me a P.M too.

Big thanks to my Beta - Angelique Irene _(_ _AOHAD)_ for correcting this chapter! ^w^

 **[!]** Comments. Follows. Any kind of support is highly appreciated. No kidding, it does give the motivation to update faster. ^^

* * *

Chapter 20

Of course she was nowhere to be found.

Of course she would just up and go and do something stupid and fucking dangerous without telling them about it.

What did they expect? When did she ever tell them anything?

But that was Adelle for you. A crazy, infuriating, courageous and cunning Adelle that had no problem lying and getting what she wanted. The same Adelle that was too beautiful for her own good for her to realize the effect she had on the people around her. The same girl that turned more often than not Stefan and Damon into freaking animals that had no control what so ever over their emotions and reactions when it came to her.

So … to sum it up, the Salvatores should have known that this would happen.

And the funniest part was that Addie had promised to tell them everything. And by everything she meant ever single lie and secret that she still kept from all of them. And they knew, they just knew that she was speaking the truth.

What they neglected to notice was that the white haired girl had one last job to do before the brothers were in the know of all of her plans. And that was to leave town and go who knows where without telling anyone.

Damon felt it in his bones, he felt it in his soul that wherever she was, wherever the girl who unashamedly stole his heart was, it was dangerous. That's why she didn't tell them. Ad knew her vampires too well and if she thought they would not let her do it alone, then it must have been fucking outrageously life threatening.

When... _When_ she came back, oh, Damon would have his way with her, he would teach her just what happened when she pulled those kind of stunts with him. Now that she was his, she would get her punishment and the older Salvatore would enjoy it. His fangs throbbed with anticipation.

Stefan on the other hand was not much better than his brother. They were both in the boarding house when they realized that Adelle was gone. She wasn't picking up her phone, the only thing that made him stay put and not paint the town red was the written note she left in her room. She would be back soon, and that was the last time she would leave them out of her plans. Did that make him feel better?

Fuck no.

The Ripper in him was pushing his walls of self-control, hissing, growling in such rage that Stefan had gone through three glasses of whiskey in the past hour.

The chant in his head was overwhelming.

 _Get her back. Take her. Make her never leave again. Punish. Punish her for running away!_

The sober and rational part of his mind knew that this was the vampire in him talking, that he couldn't lock her away, chain her and have her never see another man beside him and his brother. To never let her endanger herself like she always did.

The more he got to taste her, the more he had her in his hands...God, the more he wanted to control her, to take her away from this forsaken town.

It hurt. Not as much as he felt anger, but it still hurt that she did that. His silver bird lied so readily to them and left. But Stefan realized she was just that. A bird, a stubborn free willed bird that cherished her freedom and no matter what he wanted to do, this was Adelle and if he took it away from her, he would lose her.

So Stefan drank. One glass after the other. And waited.

When she came back, she would not leave his bedroom...or his brother's, he wasn't picky, till she didn't tell them everything and then...then she would stay some more. Preferably forever. Because the younger Salvatore knew, he knew that he would never get his fill of her.

Damon was marching all over the parlor, eyes dark and hands balled in fists.

Adelle wasn't the only one missing.

Neither Bonnie nor Jeremy were picking up their phones. They had left to retrieve the moon stone and they were still not back. To top it all off, it was full moon tonight so something must have gone horribly wrong.

But then again, what could they do? Once again the brothers were left with tied hands, Bonnie had not deemed it necessary to tell them where they were going exactly, Sheila was not in her house and for the first time Damon realized that they didn't have her phone number.

Great.

Caroline was of no help. She was just as clueless as they were.

And fucking hell, since when the vampires were the useless ones in the whole Scooby-freaking-doo gang?

Tch.

It was all Adelle's doing.

No way around it. She made them feel as empowered _with_ her, than as powerless _without_ her.

And it all went back to when Addie had agreed to be with them.

Fuck it!

"Let's think about it calmly." tried reasoning Stefan, even if he was far from it.

"Yeah..." snorted Damon, rolling his eyes. "Why not? Because the options of what the hell is going on are just so dandy, brother!" Stefan sighed.

"You think I don't know that? There are only a few explanations of what had happened, the worst one being..." the younger vampire was interrupted.

"Me. I am flattered that you think so highly of me, Stefan." purred the one and only Katherine Pierce.

Both brothers stood still, bodies rigid, reigning in their feelings of shock and anger. They were already on edge and the woman who had caused too much trouble then she was worth just strutted in their home, like she owned the place while wearing an amused smirk that would have effected them before. If it only wasn't for the one woman who they had fallen for and bested the vampire in every way possible.

"What? There is no, hello Katherine, it's a pleasure to see you?" she came closer, watching in delight when her boys stopped any movement and watched her every gesture. Pierce loved being the center of their attention. She basked in it.

Stefan and Damon shared a look, since Adelle, their silent communication had become a norm, just like when they were human. This time around though, the bond they shared was stronger so they knew the moment when their eyes met what they had to do and how they felt about it as well.

"Where are our manners?" joked Damon, forcing his body to relax and hide away all the repulsion and rage her felt towards the bitch in front of him. "Katherine would you like a drink?" oh well...he at least tried, but the sarcasm was still present in his biting tone.

"I would like one, brother." spoke Stefan acting nonchalant, like the lying manipulative whore wasn't the reason all the hell was pouring down on them.

His instincts screamed for him to attack her, to find out what she did with Bonnie and Jeremy, and to find out if she had hurt Adelle, but Katherine expected just that and both brothers would be damned if they gave her anything ever again.

No.

In fact, the Salvatores would take a page from Adelle's ways and use it against the other vampire. If there was one thing they learned from their human, it was how to make someone lose their cool and tear their hair out.

Damon tried hiding his amused smirk. He didn't miss the confusion that flashed in the bitch's eyes, before a second later she was back playing her game.

"Why, what a gentleman you became, Damon. If my memory serves me right you were never like that, always in a hurry to undress me and let me bite you. Stefan you were the gentle one, you were always attentive like you would break me. Maybe that's why I preferred you a tad bit more than your brother." Katherine just loved goading them against each other, in the end of which they would come crawling back to her, seeking approval and her attention.

The Salvatore's rivalry was one of the things she loved most about them, it made them even more determined to satisfy her, with a bit more time she would remind them just who the one who created them was. Who made them what they were now and she would have them both, just like her freedom. Damon was always so greedy and uncertain, always seeking attention and love that he would kill for her. His devotion through the years had proven that to her, he was rough with her and he made her scream. The way the raven haired man fucked...oh it made her toes curl. Stefan would be once again her knight in shining armor, making love to her, reading her poems and courting her with sweet words and gestures. They just needed a little bit of work, a bit persuasion here and there and…

Damon snorted.

Stefan rolled his eyes in amusement.

"Sure." laughed the ex-Ripper.

And for the first time Katherine wasn't certain of how to react. In fact when she looked closely, neither of the brothers were tense, there was no defined emotion in their eyes. She expected Damon to be angry, demanding answers as to why she wasn't in the tomb, why she never searched for him. Stefan should have been suspicious, brooding, worried. And most of all, both shouldn't have, not even for a second looked away from her.

All she saw though, made her blood freeze. The plan she had formed to get them back shattered in a million pieces.

Why? Because all Katherine recognized in their looks was indifference. True and without of dose of pretending indifference.

Yes, there was the anger that she had expected, but she knew the difference between the one she wanted and this one. There was no passion towards her, the effect she held over them was gone, they were angry but it was because she was here.

Stefan and Damon were annoyed she was in their presence...like she was a pest that was wasting their time.

The oldest vampire in the room was astonished. Then her blood stared boiling in rage, what were they so amused of?

Her?

She tried not showing her displeasure. But she failed and it provoked even more unexpected reactions from the Salvatores.

"You look disappointed, Katherine? Is my bourbon not to your standards?" asked the smirking Damon, who has next to his brother. In addition Stefan nodded his head in faux concern.

"I hope not, Damon, it's one of your best ones."

"Why...thank you brother." then they clanked their glassed in untrained synchrony and drank the alcohol.

"I think, our guest here needs an appetizer." piped Damon.

"Oh, I agree, there are some left overs from the vegan cupcakes somewhere in the kitchen, should I go and search for them?" Stefan continued, silently observing while the threads that held Katherine's composure slowly tore one after the other.

"They might be a bit old...but oh well..."

"I must applaud you for the outstanding performance, boys, I'm really enjoying it so far." cut in the doppelganger, but even if she spoke in an amused indifferent tone, her control was chipping away in the corners. She now sat more uptight and her jaw was clenched. Eyes were cold behind the seductiveness.

Katherine would not be Katherine if she didn't have some tricks up her sleeves.

"I'm surprised by how calm you are, when in fact I heard from a bird that your little human toy is nowhere to be found and her witch friend is … oh, look at that, the full moon is up, my… I sure am lucky to be away from two turning werewolves at the moment. Poor Bonnie...oh and Jeremy, I shouldn't forget about him." she was smirking, loving that she was getting her control back, watching in delight the poorly hidden surprised looks the Salvatores tried to conceal. "I wonder how would our dear Adelle react if something happened to her friends? I heard that newly turned wolves are vicious!"

"I take it you have the moon stone?" asked Stefan as he was the first to reign in his desire to tear her to pieces, she thought he was the gentle out of the two? Katherine had no idea that he and the Ripper were one now and if he wished he would tear her eyes out of their sockets with a butter knife. The younger brother spared a glance at Damon, he saw his rage and prayed that he would not react to Katherine's taunts. Adelle was safe, if she wasn't, the vampire in front of them would have dangled the fact in front of their faces by now, but she only did that with Bonnie and the rest.

"Oh, yes, it was fun to meet all of your new 'friends'. I'm sorry to inform you that Tyler is...ah, how should I say it?" she was grinning, mocking them, waiting till one of them exploded and attacked her. "He has a furry problem to deal from now on... and it's all my fault...oops?"

"Well, good for you, one more enemy is after you, Katherine, you must be proud." almost hissed Damon but then calmed a little when Stefan, unseen by the third vampire, grazed his thigh against his.

It was a silent 'don't let her get what she wants'.

"You won't ask what I want? Or why I'm back?" Kat continued, leaning back, pushing her chest out a bit and licking her lower lip seeking some reaction.

What she got in return was the opposite.

With renewed want for vengeance, Damon dramatically moved closer to his brother and whispered in fake dramatic astonishment in his ear.

"How did we ever find her sexy?" Katherine smirked, but her left brow irked for a moment in annoyance.

"Beats me, brother. I think it was because we were quite short on options back in the day." hummed in hidden amusement Stefan, seeing where his sibling was going with it.

Katherine was a vain creature, she prided herself in her beauty and the way she held her untouched glass tightly in her hand proved their point.

Even if they played her game at the moment, both Salvatores were internally planning what to do next, Bonnie and the rest were in danger, Adelle was nowhere to be found and Sheila wasn't of any help. If anything, the vampire sitting in front of them was steps ahead of them, even if neither showed it.

"Well, being just humans back then with no experience, even plain things were enough I suppose." continued Damon, viciously liking that this woman had no hold on him, that all his being belonged to someone who would cherish and love him no matter what. What he saw when he looked at his creator was only a mistake that brought him to the love of his life, as well as a means to an end that he needed to kill, not because she betrayed him or broke his heart...no, because she was danger for Stefan and Adelle.

Now that he knew he never loved her, Katherine Pierce was just another vampire.

The only thing he regretted was that he hadn't realized it sooner...oh and that he couldn't murder her right now.

And to think that she broke his bond with Stefan...they were indeed pathetic humans.

"Big words for someone who waited for me more than a century, Damon, why don't I believe you?" grinned Katherine. "You said..." and once again she was interrupted, this time by Stefan…Stefan who in fact _waved her off,_ like she was an annoying fly buzzing in his ear.

What had happened to the gentle soul Stefan was, what happened to the obsessed Damon who would do anything for her and her love?

"Get to the point, Katherine. This is getting rather tedious." Stefan spoke bored, standing up to fill his glass again.

"Both of you have changed." ignored him the doppelganger. "I like it."

Indeed she did. Stefan had a dangerous edge to him and Damon was not barking like a lost puppy after her anymore.

"Sorry, we are not available." rolled his eyes the raven haired man.

"Oh? You are after two boring humans?" Katherine asked in exaggerated amusement.

But she stopped when both brothers looked at her like she was stupid.

Well, that was a first.

"Elena? Pft." grinned Damon. "She is as plain and unsatisfying as you are, Kitty Kat, no hard feelings by the way!" he winked.

That caught her attention. Were they fighting over the other sister? Adelle? And here she thought they were different…

"Funny thing actually." spoke Stefan, sharing a look with his brother while still standing up. "We found a woman that we both wanted."

"Nothing new, if you ask me." cut in Damon.

"A woman that has everything and satisfies us both in every aspect there is, that can handle us both and that takes just as much as she gives in return." continued Stefan.

Now Katherine was standing. Not wanting to hear of someone that had what she wanted the moment she laid her eyes on both Salvatores... that she never got.

"It's Adelle, Katherine, it will be always Adelle, never you, not in the past, not in the future. But you already knew that, didn't you?" Damon stepped again, not hiding the love he had for the human, a look that he shared with Stefan. No rivalry, no hatred or back stabbing, a look she never saw directed towards her.

In her entire life.

She snapped.

In a second she had broken one of the chairs near them, grabbing its leg and threw it at Damon, effectively piercing him in the stomach. While he doubled over, the older stronger vampire, flashed in front of Stefan, grabbed him by the neck and it was thanks to the shock that she had moved him next to his brother on the couch they previously sat on.

In one hand she was choking the ex-Ripper, while with the other one she took the stake from Damon's stomach and stabbed it in his chest, stopping only an inch before it hit its target.

"No!" choked Stefan in fear for his brother, who hissed in agonizing pain, not moving because the wood would end him the same exact moment.

"You try something and you can say goodbye to Damon, Stefan." growled Katherine, her vampire face showing. "Tell me why I shouldn't just end your lives right here? Hm? You are no longer mine, are you? And as your creator I will be the one to take what I gave you."

Neither answered her, Damon because he couldn't and Stefan because he knew she was right, tonight they had proved to her that Katherine had no hold on them any longer. Even more, they have given themselves to one woman in the same way that she had always wanted to possess them in and they threw it in her face.

A second or two passed, then her face became normal again and she stepped back, regaining her composure and infamous seductive aura. She smirked maliciously and strutted towards the bar, pouring herself another glass of bourbon as the previous one laid broken when she had snapped. She was in control again and Stefan felt chills run through his body, this never meant anything good. But he didn't think about it because he was helping Damon pull the stake away from his chest, laying a comforting hand on his back as he coughed blood and healed slowly.

"I won't kill you." Katherine spoke. "In fact I will let you live and make you watch as I take everything precious from you. First I will start with the doppelganger, the sister of your beloved human, when I find where you hide her, trust me it won't take me long. Then I will kill Adelle's sweet aunt and brother in front of her eyes and will finish her off, robbing her from any happiness by taking all her friends one by one after that. And when completely broken, all but a shell of the girl you love so much, I will drain her dry right here, letting you watch as the light in her eyes is no longer." she took one last sip from her glass, unconcerned she let it drop on the floor shattering in hundreds of pieces. Her cold eyes never looking away from the brothers whose rage was not hidden from her.

"And then I will let you live. For all eternity, completely alone knowing that you were the reason why the woman you gave yourselves to is dead. You chose her over me, Damon, Stefan. And you will pay for it."

Then she was gone.

Three seconds of agonizing silence and then if anyone entered the boarding house at that moment, they would have witnessed two monsters with no control destroying the place.

It was Katherine's win.

But what she didn't know, was that that night she had crossed a line, a line no one should have ever dared crossing.

And that was threatening the most important thing both brothers held dear.

She had plans? Excellent, they better be good, because Katherine Pierce was about to meet Damon and Stefan as she has never seen before.

* * *

Bonnie Bennett was terrified. She was terrified because things literally went from disaster to complete nightmare.

But no… if it was indeed a nightmare she would have woken up by now, sweating and screaming. Here she was now still in this mess that she had no idea how to deal with. All thanks to Katherine Pierce.

The witch in her was furious but the human girl that had been forced in this life was holding back the trembling of her hands and the weak knees that wanted to betray her and give out.

No one could help her now. She was the only one that could do something in order to save herself, Jeremy and the two raging werewolves. The moon was rising and they had to get away from the university before Tyler and Mason changed. But how could one control such creatures when one was hurt, angry and betrayed by the person he had loved, while the other was quite literally pushed to the breaking point of killing and the anguish was obviously taking over him.

If Bonnie could have scoffed, if she had any power of her oh so human reactions, she would have hit Jeremy for being such stubborn kid and forced him out of this danger. Of course he would not listen, of course he would stay and risk his life for the werewolves and the Bennett would be damned if she left him here alone.

But fear was consuming her. She had some experience with vampires, thanks to the infuriating older Salvatore, but wolves?

She was in too deep.

And that was without mentioning that they had two dead bodies in front of them, one with a gaping hole in its chest, while the other with no head what's so ever.

Okay, think Bonnie!

Think!

Ignoring the rising voices of panic and growls of the men who were fighting against their nature to turn, the witch tried remembering what her Grams had told her.

Control. Be calm. You are Bennett, the best of the best!

Shit. Okay. She got it.

Pushing back her weaknesses, there was no time for those, Bonnie took one deep breath in and then out.

Think of your motivations.

Save herself and her friends.

Get out of this alive.

Prove yourself worthy of your heritage.

Live, so you can slowly and sweetly return the favor of the one who did this.

Ah… yes, revenge would be so so pleasant.

That did it.

With anew determination and confidence back on the front of her mind, Bonnie spoke. Voice clear, no signs of shaking or doubt. Only power.

Her ancestors would have been be proud.

"Jeremy!" the boy looked sharply at her. "Go and look in the desk, take anything valuable."

"What? Bonnie we have..." he didn't understand.

"No one should know what happened here, we have to cover our presence, do as I say and ask later!" maybe it was the no bullshit tone she used, or that Bonnie was the only calm one out of the four but the youngest Gilbert nodded and did what she had told him to.

"How far are the woods from here, Mason?" she then turned towards the oldest, who was next to his nephew trying to calm him down. He himself was losing the battle of control. His sharp, changing from gold to light brown eyes looked at her.

"Three minutes if we run." his voice was strained, back hunched, the more the moon was rising, the more he felt the animal in him pushing against its cage. And yet he was the lucky one out of the two, Tyler would experience his first transition, the most excruciating pain and disparity he would ever go through.

"How long do you have till it starts?" Bonnie continued, ignoring the warning signs that told her to get away from the two beasts.

"Not long, Bonnie listen, you two have to get away, with no restrains we won't be able to stop, we..." he spared a look at the pale boy next to him. "We could kill you if we have the chance."

Oh how true his words were.

Bonnie knew and she felt her magic sizzle at the prospect of its master being in danger.

"Don't underestimate me, Mason, if someone is in danger here it's you and Tyler, I won't let you get anywhere near me or Jeremy." the confidence in her magic made something in the older wolf turn, his eyes flashed with an unreadable emotion. Was it because the witch was challenging his powers or because at this moment in the middle of a literal chaos she looked delectable? The man didn't know, but he had no time to think it over as Tyler let out a painful sob.

He was starting to change.

"Shit!" cursed the other Lockwood. It was too soon! But he couldn't blame him, all that had happened to him in the past few days was making his emotional stability nonexistent. "Bonnie..." he didn't have the chance to continue because right after Mason uttered the name of the witch, she had spoken a spell, that rolled gracefully out of her full lips and fire engulfed the two dead vampires on the floor.

She didn't even flinch when the smell of burning flesh filled the room.

No, Mason thought, she was too busy chanting her next spell.

Were all witches like her? Or was it only her? The wolf had met others of her kind, but none of them had been so strong or courageous, not even the ones who had been twice her age.

Another spell.

And then there was no trace of the burned corpses, no trace of the disgusting smell or the blood that had been marred all over the room when the fight had broken in. Only the trashed desk and the missing items from it which were in the hands of Jeremy. They would play it as robbery.

It was like they have not been here in the first place.

If Mason had the time or the right state of mind he would have been impressed, but now he had to deal with his own transition, his nephew's and the real prospect of them both killing innocent people tonight. Tyler would not be able to take this kind of guilt, he was already tethering on the line between sanity and loosing himself.

"Let's go!" spoke firmly Bonnie, leading the way. When out of the campus building, she was thankful that it was so late and no one was there to witness the four of them running towards the forest, two of which were supporting each other, not able to stop the change in their eye color.

She had no idea how they would have gotten away with that one.

Bonnie still had not learned an oblivion spell, which let her erase the memories from the witness's brain.

That would be useful. When they survive this bloody mess, that will be the first thing she would ask her Grams to teach her.

"Tyler! Tyler, are you okay?" Jeremy asked concerned for his friend, but when he tried coming closer to the other boy he was pushed back forcefully by the younger Lockwood, eye blazing, teeth out hissing and the only thing stopping him from coming towards Jer being Mason's hands holding him firmly in place.

The teen was in shock, not believing his eyes. Was this really Tyler? He didn't act like a human. Worry and fear went through his body, shaking him to the core.

"You have to go!" growled the quarterback, those being his first words since the moment he had killed the human. "Jeremy, get away from here, I will hurt you...I … I can't control it! Mason!" he howled in pain, the forest was filling with the sound of cracking bones.

"Fuck, Tyler, listen to me!" shouted through his own agony the other wolf, all the while Bonnie and Jeremy could only stand there and watch in horror as their friend's body fell on the ground, bones pricking from his back and spine snapping in tens of different places. His nails were elongated, teeth extending in two rolls of sharp canines reflecting the light of the full moon that was now on its highest point in the sky. "I p-promise everything will be-e okay!" Mason tried speaking but his own control was slipping.

Growls. Painful screams. Hisses.

The sight before them was terrifying.

Both werewolves had lost the ability to talk.

"Jeremy..." Bonnie had to fight her fear from showing in her voice, she had to be strong for all of them. "We have to..." she grabbed his arm, making him look at her and not at what was happening. She was on the verge of knocking him out and running as far away as she could. Her instinct for preservation was kicking in so hard that she was digging her nails in his skin almost painfully.

"We...we can't leave them, Bonnie! It's not their fault! If Tyler hurts..." he chocked. "If he k-kills someone, that would destroy him!" his desperation was so strong that he was trembling. Behind them they were hearing shouts, warnings to run, but the witch didn't let her friend look back, she as well stared only at him.

"I will try stopping them, but I won't be able to hold them for too long and most certainly not for the whole night." she told him.

"A cave!" Jeremy almost screamed in realization. "What...what if we find something like a cave and lock them in like….like the barrier in the tomb!"

That could work.

But before any of them could do anything else, the chaos behind them had stopped. The eerie silence was deafening in their ears.

They slowly turned around.

Two big wolves one dark brown, the other midnight black stared at them, eyes piercingly gold, canines bared as they slowly started moving in a hungry predatory way towards the teens.

This was bad. Bonnie knew it, the moment they moved an inch and the beasts would pounce on them and by the deep sharp breaths that Jeremy drew in, he knew it as well.

Her magic sparked in her veins, her lips twitched in an effort to stop the spell that would burn them alive. She had to remind herself that those animals were their friends, even if the witch in her screamed for her to protect Jeremy. The Bennett would have never forgiven herself.

Jeremy's left hand twitched.

And all at once the two wolves jumped, hungry and vicious, growling, howling, running towards them in unimaginable speed.

The younger Gilbert screamed. They were going to die here.

But it never came. The sharp paws never touch his throat, teeth never pierced his skin.

The weres were writhing in pain on the green muddy ground. Hissing and trying to stand up, to attack, devour and kill! But Bonnie was chanting, she never stopped, her hands were raised, brows furrowed in concentration, eyes hard as a steel.

"Jer!" she shouted. "In my bag there is a map of the university compound, the forest is in it! Find where we can lock them!" she was breathing heavily, the magic she was using was lowly draining her.

The boy didn't waste time and scrambled towards said item, he didn't question why Bonnie had it with her, she was always prepared, always researching, it shouldn't have surprised him. Shaking hands opened the map and his wide eyes searched for anything that could help them.

"Jeremy! Hurry up!" spoke through clenched teeth the witch, glaring at the wolves that were slowly coming closer even if she was chanting one of her most painful but not lethal spells at them.

The need for blood was stronger, though and she could sense them fighting against her. It didn't help that she had used her powers too much today.

"There! I found it!" Jer interrupted her concentration, for only a second, but it was all the canines needed and Bonnie found herself harshly pushed on the ground, hitting her head and screaming in pain as one set of jaws sharply and viciously bit her on the arm. The agony was unexplainable. The wolf was on top of her, eyes blazing, fury and hunger all visible and she knew the moment his teeth locked themselves completely, she would lose her arm.

Tears streamed down her face, was this the way she would die?

But a shout made her push the pain away, she was losing blood and any movement tightened the hold Mason had on her, but she looked to her left.

Paralyzing fear struck her...

Jeremy was on the ground, white as a ghost, terrified out of his mind as Tyler was over him.

The new wolf hadn't attacked him yet, he was watching him and when his head came closer to her friend's Bonnie knew that she couldn't die here, not when Jer needed her the most. A clawed paw pierced her stomach, the pain was terrible but not as much as the one in her hand. It was a warning.

Don't move.

Questions swirled in her mind, why hadn't Mason killed her already? The thing on her midsection could have plunged itself right through her, those canines could have already teared her neck apart. What was he waiting for?

But at this moment she didn't question it. For whatever reason she was still alive. Barely, but alive and she would be damned if she let it go to waste.

Just before she uttered her spell, she was momentary distracted.

The wolf's eyes on top of her were staring right down at her, the only difference from before attacking her was that there was something in addition to the carnal need to kill. It was waiting for her reaction. How could that be possible? The glint in the gold irises was challenging, and if she had been in the right state of mind, if she wasn't losing so much blood and wasn't so terrified for her friend, the witch would have understood that the animal was testing her, wanting to see if she was worth it.

Somehow the beast had remembered her confidence when she had spoken of her abilities to stop him and it had liked it, it had liked the prospect of someone equal to its strength.

If Bonnie had looked to the left again, she would have seen that the other wolf wasn't about to kill Jeremy, in fact the animal had immobilized the human, laying on top of him, canines on display and breath washing over the teen's shocked face. It's head had forcefully nudged the boy's one to the side and when the Gilbert hadn't been so compliant it had growled threateningly, biting the air right in front of his nose. Jeremy's heart was beating so fast that his ribcage was about to burst, the sound was so loud that the beast had no problem hearing it and just...just for a second the human had though Tyler looked like a dog, moving it's big ears a little.

Yes, Jeremy, a fucking big scary dog that was playing with its food before tearing him apart!

Bonnie was bleeding, she was hurt and he couldn't do anything but to act as a chewing toy for the werewolf. He was so weak, that it was sickening.

"Tyler..." he was able to whisper, voice so low that he had hard time hearing it himself. What could he say? Down boy! Bad puppy, don't kill, don't kill!

If he wasn't about to faint he would have snorted at the surrealism of the situation. Here he was about to be eaten by a big vicious dog. He almost regretted using the excuse of 'the dog ate my homework' so often.

Fate had its way of paying him back, he was sure of it.

Then he heard Bonnie chanting, it was short, breathless but powerful. In three words she managed to throw Mason off of her, sending him flying across the clearing. Tyler stood up from on top of him and ran to attack the witch, this time the wolf looked ready to kill, it looked nothing like seconds ago when he was sniffing the human.

Ever so pale, the Bennett did the same to Tyler as to his uncle, even hitting him so hard that the wolf lost consciousness.

Then things got blurry for the human, Bonnie had used a powerful spell to incapacitate them but it would affect them for only minutes. Those minutes were the longest he had experienced. Next thing he knew they were in front of the cave he had seen on the map and while Jeremy held up the witch who barely had the strength to stand on her feet, she levitated the two beasts in it. She was steps away from passing out, the gash on her hand made him sick, how was she still able to do magic?

"The locking spell will be lifted in five hours, Jeremy." she whispered having no energy to speak louder, her voice was trembling. "I have no power for more and I don't know if that's enough. The moment I do it, I would be out. I'm already magic depleted and the wounds are not helping."

Wounds? As in more than one? Jeremy was shocked. But the witch didn't let him talk.

"You have to close the one on my arm, I think it's infected. I need a hospital, Jer, I hope you will be able to get me there in time."

He was affronted for a second, of course he would do anything in his powers to help her! But worry won over any other emotion.

"I promise, juts hold on for a bit longer, Bon." she nodded, but even that movement brought great pain for her.

"Trust me, I have a bitch to get back to and pay her for what she did today, I'm not going anywhere."

Jeremy would have smiled. But he didn't have it in him.

Then she whispered the spell. And the second the last ancient word was out of her lips, her eyes rolled back and her whole body sagged in his hands.

The human only spared one glance back to the cave before he summoned what was left of his own will and started walking.

He couldn't wait till the sun was up.

* * *

Caroline Forbes was as excited as she was nervous.

Yesterday was a disaster, a complete and utter disaster and her control freak enhanced-after-becoming-Dracula self was losing its shit, because things were never supposed to get this bad.

One moment she was happily preparing for the masquerade ball, which by the way, no one and she meant it _no one_ remembered it was _today,_ and the next second Adelle was calling her telling her she was going out of town.

Business, she called it. Psh, yeah right, Care was anything but naive and she knew that her best friend was going to do something dangerous and if she was calling her then that was because her lover _boys_ were in the dark. Bonnie and the little Gilbert were on a hunt...you know…? Hunting with two wolfs...who were hunters by nature? Get it?

Whatever.

So back to her important problem.

Yes... so Addie called her, told her she would meet someone who would help them get rid of Katherine and that she did not need to worry because Lexi..and oh my God! Hold the phone! Lexi as Stefan's bff? Was the white haired girl replacing her with some...some blond, mischievously gorgeous and funny vampire?

Gasp!

This was like Ad and Care had broken up or something and the Gilbert was on rebound with her less than beautiful and deserving copy!

She was so definitely going to have a talk with that girl!

Where was she...Ah! Yes, and because this someone who would help them was by far one of the most dangerous vampires to ever exist, Adelle didn't need the Salvatores breathing down her neck. But at least someone had to know where she was if something bad happened. Care was the only one she would answer the phone to, and because of that the blond had to lie and stay silent if and when the brothers came searching for their girl. Only if someone was dying the Forbes was to contact her.

Great.

It sounded simple.

Bullshit.

Because when in this crazy town did shit not hit the fan? Hm? And she means it! It always happens in the middle of one of the parties and events Caroline had been working so hard on! Where was the justice in that?

And to think that everyone had forgotten that today, the day after Addie had gone all James Bond, was one of the coolest events that Mystic Falls celebrated!

Ugh. The nerve of everyone!

Bonnie should have returned by now. No one told her where she and her three musketeers were and for God sake, last night was a full moon!

But why would anyone pick their phones? Matt was his oblivious self, Jenna and Alaric were playing it cool and even if she wanted to talk with them they were obviously hiding from her in fear she would rope them in helping with the party.

Which was absurd...okay...it was logical of them, but the blond was going through a crisis here! Hello!

When she went to see Damon and Stefan again this morning, both looked like they had been slapped around with a wet rag. It was a funny sight to be seen, but then they had to ruin her amusement by telling them Katherine had visited them and Bonnie was in danger. They didn't know where the rest were, as the witch had conveniently forgotten to tell them.

On top of it, this wrinkled bitch had announced that she would kill everyone, because apparently the vampires in front of her were PMS-ing and had to anger her somehow.

Well congrats for their efforts, it had paid off beautifully!

But Caroline had died once by the hand of this psycho and she refused, _refused_ an encore!

But wait! This was not by far the worst part!

Gosh, she wished.

Adelle had finally picked her phone, and said that she was on her way home. No more explanation. But Care being the fast talker she was had stopped her from hanging up.

She told her friend what she knew and Addie was pissed. Just remembering her cold voice and the note of sinister glee...ugh, it still made her shudder.

Yes, when the Gilbert came back, they would all be in for a surprise.

Good, she couldn't wait...like literally she couldn't.

It would be nice if someone at least would show up _right about now!_

Because you know… right here in this exact moment was the worst part she was talking about in her mental rant.

Oops she skipped something...

The ball was a success... _Hooray!_

Care had even gotten one heck of a cute baby pink gown to wear with a white mask and her curls were on flick! But her good mood was chocked and she meant it – it was literally _chocked out of her._ Because not even half an hour after the formal party had begun she found herself harshly pushed against a wall in the only freaking secluded area in the Lockwood mansion.

Yes, she was fighting for her every breath as the one and only _bitch_ was smiling sinisterly at her, while her grip around Care's pale neck was closing faster than she would hope.

 _That's her problem!_

"Where are your friends, Caroline?" smirked Katherine, looking perfectly composed in her little black number, hair half pulled back, black mask showing off her red lips.

Fuck her for even now being pretty when she was slowly killing the blond.

 _Again!_

"I hoped to see at least some of them." she faked a pout, that still looked cute and Caroline would have scoffed if her windpipe wasn't being crushed at the moment. "Like Adelle, Bonnie or… oh I don't know? Elena? Where is my pathetic copy, Care?"

She hated how her shortened name came out of her mouth, like she was mocking her. But what could she do? She had no chance against such grandma was older by five hundred years.

Forbes would be scared, but she was more pissed then that, so she very well hid her fears. For fuck sake! This bitch had killed her.

 _Killed!_

"Tell me or I will kill you right now and leave your body to be found by your dear mama." her smirk became sharper, crueler.

"You will kill me either way." choked Caroline with what was left of her voice.

Katherine laughed. Like she was watching some comedy show and she couldn't believe the stupidity of the main character.

Oh yes, Care was definitely more pissed then scared.

And fuck, all the trouble she went through to iron this dress, now it was all ruined!

"Look at that, the airhead has some brains after all." the older vampire taunted.

"Go to hell." gritted the blond, liking the irritation that showed for a fraction of a second on the woman opposite of her. Katherine leaned in so her lips grazed the shell of her ear.

"Wrong answer."

And Caroline closed her eyes, expecting the pain, but it never came. When she opened her blue orbs she saw Damon tearing her attacker away from her, both becoming a blur as they started fighting. Stefan was next to her. Worry showing on his face.

"Are you alright, Care?" he asked, keeping an eye on his brother but at the same time looking her up and down to make sure that she was not harmed.

"Yes, yes. I was wondering when one of you all would show up." she tried joking and he smiled a little, letting out a sigh that the ball of sunshine was okay.

"I have to go help Damon you stay in the main room where everyone can see you, it will be the safest place, but if needed get out of there." he told her and didn't wait for Caroline's response before blurring after where his brother and Katherine had gone.

So...You see, now when the blond had to think about it, yesterday wasn't the only day that was a disaster. Yep, she agreed with herself that today deserved the same evaluation.

* * *

All the way few hours away from Mystic Falls, Bonnie Bennett was slowly waking up. It was that annoying beeping that stirred her from her tranquil sleep. What she saw when she cracked open her eyes was white….so bright that it hurt like a bitch.

Groaning she closed her orbs just as quickly.

Where was she? Her brain was a mess, headache was pounding in her head and her left arm throbbed uncomfortably.

She regretted immediately the desire to know what was going on, because all at ones memories from last night came flashing behind her lids. Shit. Jeremy!

Her next mistake was to sit up from whatever surface she had been sleeping on. And because of the shock she had not helped her case by snapping open her orbs and that's how she felt like puking, losing any semblance of where was up and where was down.

"God..." she moaned, lifting her right hand to massage her temple, but that motion was stopped at the restrains that didn't allowed her to complete the motion. But all of this was pulled back in her piling questions as her abrupt movement caused her to see stars and all became blurred mess of colors.

Bright, harsh colors.

The witch didn't know how long it took her to control all the sickness but when she did she found herself once again lying on this bed. For the first time she realized that she was in a hospital room, Jeremy was sitting next to her slowly talking to her, concern obvious in his voice.

What shocked her even more were the other two men there, Mason and Tyler Lockwood were perched on the small gray most definitely uncomfortable sofa in the opposite side of her.

With no words, Jer gave her a plastic cup of water that was pure heaven for her dry throat and when she knew that her voice won't crack...too much, the Bennett spoke.

"How long was I unconscious?" the witch would have preferred if her tone was more powerful and didn't sound like a frail kid, but she would work with what she had.

"Almost twenty hours." informed her Jeremy, taking back the empty cup and smiling in a pitiful attempt to hide his panic of her being out for so long.

"What happened when I fainted?" Bonnie continued, seeing as no one was willing to tell the whole story without it being forced out of them.

"You were able to..." it was Mason who spoke next, eyes not looking at her, but moving around the room. Tyler was no better, shame was written all over his face. His orbs gazing at the floor. Gosh, now the witch had to deal with emotional damage control. Where was Adelle, when she needed her? Wait! What happened to all of their phones? "You were able to lock us in a small cave after knocking us unconscious."

"So you remember what was going on after the transition?" and one would have thought that instead of a question, Bonnie had pierced the Lockwoods right through their chests as they both recoiled back as far as the sofa allowed them to. Now when she looked more carefully she noted that Tyler and Mason had new clothes, had showered but the paleness of their faces betrayed everything the witch needed to know.

She should have been furious, scared and disgusted. Jeremy and her had almost died last night, they were literally fighting for their lives, her magic was so depleted that she almost couldn't sense it. Bonnie should have screamed, but she couldn't find it in herself to hate either of them. They hadn't chosen this path, they had been forced in it and remembering the devastation Tyler had went through, the fear of hurting them or anyone that Mason showed her...The Bennett had unknowingly forgiven them already.

One look at Jeremy and she knew he was on the same boat. They shared a silent brief communication...who knew they could do that?

One nodded, the other tried smiling.

It was decided.

"When you got out were you human?" she asked next, Mason nodded, briefly glancing at her but it only lasted a second.

"Yes, we found clothes and showered in a motel after getting my things from the car. Then we found you in the hospital and...since then we have been all waiting for you to wake up." he paused, squeezed Tyler's shoulder in comfort, who leaned into it for support. The teen had gone through a lot, first his father, then killing an innocent human and...his first transition where he almost killed Jeremy and Bonnie. He would need time. Time and someone to talk to. "Bonnie...I...oh God...we are so..." but the witch didn't let him finish.

"I don't need you apology, Mason." she ignored the sharp suck of breath from the older man as she continued. "None of this is your fault nor Tyler's for a fact." Both snapped their heads to look at her in shock. "You have no control over your wolf form and I don't blame you for anything that happened last night. I knew the danger, just like Jeremy, and we decided to stay and help. You didn't kill anyone. There is a reason why it's called a curse...Tyler..." her friend stared at her, many emotions going through him. "I am sorry for what Katherine forced you to do, you would have never hurt this man and I know it will take time but the guilt...you don't deserve it. When we get back I promise that on every full moon Jeremy and I will help you get through it, you will never hurt anyone else that I assure you."

"Bonnie..." spoke the newly turned werewolf, disbelieve and relief swimming on the surface of his brown grieving eyes.

"For what it's worth..." stepped in Jeremy, reassuring real mile grazing his mouth, "I forgive you, no hard feelings." Bonnie nodded.

"I second that. So can we stop this pity whining fest and get back home, please?" she tried joking and liked that both teens couldn't hold back their small grins before agreeing. The witch chose to ignore for the moment the way Mason's eyes pierced hers, face unreadable.

"Does any of you know what is going on in Mystic Falls?" Bonnie asked, while Jeremy was assisting her get out of the bed, telling her about the medication she should take for the bite and the pain, while planning with Tyler how to sneak out of the hospital as the staff would never let her out so soon.

"Katherine is there." said Mason, cutting through any easiness that had filled the room.

"What?" Tyler chocked. Jeremy was the one to explain.

"I managed to power up my phone, Caroline and Stefan as well as Damon had been calling us like crazy. I called Stefan and he..." then the teen retold what chaos was going down in their town.

Adelle was nowhere to be found, Katherine wanted Elena while promising to kill them all one by one.

The masquerade ball had started and as always the witch's senses told her a lot would happen while the event was in its full swing.

They had to hurry and go back, help catch the bitch who made last night her worst nightmare.

They had to find Adelle...where the hell was her friend? Why was it that when she was always up to something or out of town shit hit the fan?

Was her Grams okay? Did anyone check on her?

What if she was hurt? ...What if Katherine got to her…?

"Bonnie!" the witch was brought out of her panicking daze, now looking around she found out that the only ones in the room were her and Mason, who had his hands on her unhurt arm, looking concern.

"Where..."

"Tyler and Jeremy went to wait in the car, it will be easier to get you out of here if we were not a whole group of people attracting attention." interrupted her the wolf. Bonnie nodded and now that she was fully clothed she went towards the door.

Mason stopped her in the middle, looming over her, taking advantage of how short she was to his impressive six foot two muscled body.

Her heart did a weird flip just then. Was she about to throw up or something? What are you doing Bon? You have a boyfriend! Oh! Oh my God! She had totally forgotten about him! They had a date last night...and no...it was their three month anniversary!

"Bonnie." the closeness of Mason's voice startled her. He was now right in front of her. And maybe it was all the panicking thoughts she had in her head, or the way the wolf's eyes penetrated her, but it was hard to breath, her chest was rising and falling and she couldn't move her brown-green orbs from his light ones. For the life of her the witch didn't understand why he was so _so_ _close._

"Mason? What..." but she was rendered silent when the supernatural slowly lifted his hand and touched her injured arm. His fingers cautiously moved up from her wrist like he was afraid that anything he did would put her in more pain. He stopped on her elbow and the witch just now realized that gauze was wrapped around her entire upper arm, beginning just above where the wolf's hand was and ending below her shoulder.

The bite had not only been deep but huge as well. But what had she expected? Mason's wolf form was more than twice his own size.

"I will never forgive myself for what I have done to you, Bonnie." he finally spoke, voice low but full with sincerity and regret. She didn't get the chance to speak. "You have been helping me from the moment we met, you are still doing it and most of all you are going to keep supporting my nephew. No matter how much it endangers you. Last night...you didn't leave, you stayed and stopped me from killing, you saved not only Jeremy but my sanity as well. But I hurt you...I almost killed you. Jeremy and Tyler might not know, but I remember, there is a wound on your stomach as well, isn't it?"

The anguish in his orbs made her breath hitch, she had never seen someone in so much pain because of what they had done to some else. Bonnie was so lost in his words that she didn't notice his other hand moving over her toned midsection. He had felt the gauze there as well and the noise that left his mouth almost made her back away. But he didn't let her move.

There was a sound in the back of his throat. If she wasn't so full with meds she would have been sure that it was a mixture of a whine and growl.

"I...I can't turn back in time, Bonnie, this guilt no matter what you say will plague me for the rest of my life. You are one of the people that don't deserve ever being in this condition, not when all you do is protect us all. Willing or not. But..." his voice was gruff, strained but it slowly became stronger and determined. "I promise you that from now on I will never let anything like that happen again, be it by my hand or someone else's."

The shock she experienced was too great to describe.

"You don't need to..." but he interrupted her again, now once again staring at her.

"I don't need to, but I want to. And when I promise something I tend to keep my word no matter what. This is not only a way to pay back for what I did, but as a thank you for not giving up on Tyler, he needs friends like that."

Both supernaturals looked at one other for a moment, it was quiet around them.

Later when asked, Bonnie would not be able to explain why but for the first time in her life she acted without thinking over any aspect of said decision.

The witch reacted on impulse, one that would sooner or later save her life more times than she could remember.

"Okay."

And with one single word, the witch and the wolf sealed a deal, a promise that was the beginning of something…

Something magical.

* * *

Outside, few blocks away from the hospital, Tyler and Jeremy sat in the backseat of their car.

They were waiting for Mason to smuggle Bonnie out of her room.

From the moment they had met today, neither had spoken much to the other. There was this tension sizzling around them, that couldn't let them get far away but was too strong and new to act on it and get closer.

At the moment this was the closest they had been and Jeremy had naively opened the window on his side in hopes of...diluting whatever it was in the air.

Tyler would have smirked at his friend's actions, but he was too preoccupied with controlling the urge to move towards the human. The wolf didn't know why but there has always been this easiness he felt around the Gilbert, all the time spent together alone, playing games or just talking, they hadn't been shy from touching … in a friendly manner.

But since he activated his curse... the wolf pushed back the image of the dead body, he had no sanity left in him to deal with this now...the need to touch his friend was stronger than... normal.

For fuck's sake! There was no manual for new werewolves so he had no damn explanation as to why he was feeling that way. All he understood was that when Jeremy was close, when Jeremy was smiling at him, when he listened to him, when _Jeremy_ touched him….his life wasn't the shit hell hole that it was. He could think clearly, he could breathe easily and could smile with easily.

Tyler could tell him his fears.

And today...today after what happened last night, after _remembering_ what he did, he needed this feeling of safety.

Yes. _Safety._

He would not dwell on when Jeremy Gilbert had become his safety net, because he quite frankly did not give a shit. What he needed was the boy next to him, who stubbornly did not meet his searching eyes. He just stared out through the window.

Another flash. Another image. His dad. His _dad. Dead. Dead._ Just like the human.

Human. He...he even didn't know his name. He didn't know the name of the person he had killed.

Before his breath could get even more out of control, before he could lose it a hand laid on top of his.

Long, _long_ fingers, perfect for an artist.

Calloused fingertips, but by far softer than his from playing football so long.

Pale skin. Deep contrast to his tanned one. Perfect. _Perfect to_ leave marks on.

Tyler stared at their joined hands, then looked up at the open, forgiving and reassuring smile that met him.

And his heart started to slow down.

The wolf threaded his fingers through Jeremy's, searching for any signs of protest and met none.

His breathing was getting back to normal.

The squeeze he gave was returned with a firmer one and he welcomed it, he soaked in it and relished at the message that was conveyed with no words.

His fears were not so terrifying anymore.

 _I'm here for you._

He didn't feel so lost and hopeless.

 _I stand beside you._

He would get through this.

 _Whatever you need... I will give you._

He was not alone.

 _I will give you all._

* * *

Katherine was viscous, vengeful and most of all a great survivor, who had learnt how to fight in the half of a century she had lived.

So even if Damon and Stefan combined their strengths and wills to kill her, she had still managed to dance around them, like she was enjoying it. Damon had managed to break her arm, Stefan succeeded stabbing her in the leg, twice, but it wasn't like they hadn't gotten the same in return.

In fact, Katherine seemed to be enjoying their intentions to end her here, on the second floor of the busy Lockwood mansion. She was smirking in satisfaction, gloating them further, taunting them and hitting with sharp words that hurt more than a wooden stake in the stomach.

"Here is the passion I love so much in you, Damon."

"Stefan you had gotten even more sinful then the last time I saw you."

"Damon did you know that I watched you brother through the years? Sorry I kind of forgot about you."

"Want to kill me, Stef? Do it, then drink human blood, become a monster and paint this pathetic town red."

She was trying to turn them against each other. She was hitting every old wound with precision. It would have worked, she would have succeed but the doppelganger had missed two things. It had been a while since Stefan and Damon had talked over everything, truly forgiving each other, bonding in a way that could never be destroyed by the petty words the Pierce was throwing at them.

She had no control over them. They never loved her, never will. They loved each other just as much as they loved the infuriating human girl that was constantly slipping through their fingers.

The brothers had never been stronger.

And by the way she would hiss, glare and continue to throw empty words in their faces, she knew it too.

Damon's phone didn't stopping ringing. And the way Katherine would grin each time they wound her, each time their phones would go off...there was something wrong.

"Why don't you see who calls, boys?" she said.

Stefan did, while Damon still battled with her, growling when she would break a bone in his body and try to steal a kiss from him the moment he healed.

Wrong. It was all wrong. Why wasn't she trying to kill them with as much effort as they used?

It was Alaric.

" _Stefan! What is happening!? What are you doing? Jenna is bleeding, her arm is broken and just a minute ago a wound was opened in her leg!"_ the teacher was terrified, the three vampires could hear the screams of pain in the background.

"Damon, stop! Katherine did something to Jenna!" but before he could even finish his sentence, his brother was sent flying the opposite side of the room, shattering a glass table.

Katherine looked victorious.

"Oops! Did I forget to mention that I linked my life to Adelle's precious aunt? My mistake." she inspected her nails, while Damon tried standing up, regarding her with such hatred that anyone else would have frozen in fear. "You see, whatever happens to me, will happen to …Jenna was it? I kind of forget unimportant people's names." she winked.

Stefan's hold on the phone was so tight that it was about to crack.

" _Stefan, do something, she is losing too much blood!"_

"Katherine..." the ex-Ripper started but he never finished as the said vampire waved her pointer finger mockingly.

"So now you want to talk, Stef? What a shame, I'm done speaking." she said.

"You could have fooled me." spitted Damon, now standing next to his brother. "You were one hell of an annoying blabbering hag just moments ago." that wiped away the doppelganger's smirk.

"Wrong words, Damon." then she grabbed her own left shoulder and with the speed of a vampire cracked it back, effectively dislodging it.

A piercing scream filled the room, coming from the phone in Stefan's hand. The pleading cries from Alaric made Damon's ears almost bleed with helplessness.

"What do you want, Katherine?" gritted through his teeth the younger brother, holding every part of himself that growled in him to tear her to pieces, to end her in the most agonizing pain. Her sharp eyes landed on him, they were cold and vengeful.

"Oh, I want many things. I want you in my bed, pleasing me till I can't talk, I want Damon, worshiping me like the old times, I want you both..." her voice lowered.

"You have no chance in hell, Kitty Kat, you are not enough for either of us." scoffed Damon and even if he knew that those words would cost them a lot, he wanted her to hear them, to feel them, to soak them so deep in her petty brain and skin that she would never forget them.

Katherine was getting a taste her own medicine, but this time around they really meant it. In the past she had made Damon feel worthless, but now he knew that it was never anything close to that.

But she? She would never be anything but a pathetic mistake.

Her growl rang around the room. And she flashed towards the raven haired vampire, both he and his sibling were ready to stop her, but Pierce never reached them.

No, she fell on the ground screaming in pain, all her bones snapping and healing, then snapping again, making her feel the most unbelievable pain she had ever experienced.

"No!" Stefan panicked, turning around to see Sheila Bennett and another woman who bared some resemblance to the old powerful witch. "She linked herself to Jenna!"

While Sheila chanted, not paying him any attention, only feeling gleeful vengeance towards the dying vampire who she resurrected again and again, just to break her to pieces again, it was the other witch who answered.

"It was all a ruse."

"Who are you?" glared Damon, finally realizing that there was no more screams or pleading voices coming from the phone.

"My name is Lucy Bennett, I am cousin to Bonnie Bennett and had been working with Katherine." both vampire tensed, the grotesque sight behind them forgotten for the moment, even if it filled them with pleasure to see Katherine like that.

Helpless. At the mercy of someone else.

"Sheila and I agreed, when I came in Mystic Falls, that we should stop her, I had no plans of being her slave till I died, so we formed a plan. I knew that she wanted me to locate where the other doppelganger was, but I lied to her that she was protected by the other witches in town. We both knew that Katherine wanted to secure her safety by linking herself to someone who you would not want to die so I falsely told her that I had connected her with Jenna Sommers. Who, with Alaric Saltzman, had agreed to pretend when the time came, which was now. All you heard was a lie, neither of them are hurt or in danger. But we had to make Katherine believed she had all the power which gave us the time to create a locking spell that would not let her out of this room for however long we decide to prolong her torture."

The Salvatores were stunned into silence. Damon was the first to step forward and see if in fact he could pass the invisible barrier and he did.

"Huh...look at that, I did not expect any of it." he smirked talking to Sheila, who had stopped for the time being, Katherine laying incapacitated covered in blood and incapable of healing. No one planned on giving her any blood for her to do that either.

"No one threatens my town, granddaughter or her friends and gets away to tell the story, Damon." spoke for the first time the witch, her sharp eyes moving from one brother to the other.

"We will remember that." said Stefan, before his sibling had the chance to anger the powerful supernatural and get himself in trouble.

"It will be wise of you to do that." she nodded.

"My part is done, Sheila, I will be taking my leave now." stepped in Lucy, not taking her eyes from either vampire, she didn't trust them one bit.

"Thank you for your assistance, Lucy I hope that the next time we see each other would be on more pleasant note." they smiled briefly and soon after the younger witch was gone.

There was a moment of silence.

"What do you plan on doing with her?" asked Stefan.

"Kill her of course, brother, what kind of question is that?" Damon scoffed.

"Yes, we will get there, but first Katherine has to answer for all her mistakes and wrong doings. I spoke with the dead witches, they agree that taking her life would be too kind for her, she has to receive the same amount of pain that she has inflicted. There is a spell prepared for her, just for that." the finality in Sheila's voice left no place for protests. And it wasn't like any of the Salvatores would have said anything.

"I am afraid that I cannot agree with that, Sheila Bennett." a voice spoke from behind them, a voice full of authority, grace and power. A voice that promised a lot of misery and pain if someone went against its owner's wishes. "I have special plans for Katerina Petrova and she needs to be alive in order for our deal to be valid."

There stood a tall handsome man, dressed in expensive personally tailored suit that fit him perfectly. Brown hair was swept back, not a strand out of place. His posture proud and the aura around him proved everyone in the room that he was powerful and dangerous, but the way he spoke was graceful and screamed centuries of control and superiority.

He was a vampire. A vampire that none of them had seen.

A lethal gentleman.

"Deal? I don't remember ever making a deal with anyone." said through his teeth Damon, who didn't like how obviously stronger this man was in comparison to them all.

That's when another person joined them. An all too familiar voice, ringing like bells, soft, gentle and oh so loving, making both brothers hearts swell with emotion.

"That's because it was I who made this deal, a deal with one of the original vampires- Elijah Mikaelson."

And there she stood in all her glory and beauty, silver hair cascading in loose waves around her like a halo, brilliant blue-green eyes accentuated by dark smoky make up. Lips were red like blood, body wrapped in the finest material of a royal blue gown, shoulder bare with a neckline seductively low. A dress that hugged her just right around the waist and then flowed like wings down to the floor.

Her mask...her mask was blue as well, but it was ornamented with black details making her appear like she wasn't real, like she was a mirage, a vision of the purest and most seductive creature.

Like she was…

No...

 _As_ she was – Adelle Gilbert.

"I'm sorry for being late, but I must say that none of us were bored the last two days, were we?"

* * *

 **Author's note:**

 **UPDATE 15.06 : My computer broke. Me- In the middle of hysteria, cause I have exams and so...no update this weekend. Pray for my laptop!**

 ** _[[[ Looking for new Betas! If interested write me a PM! ]]]_**

 **Even if this story is centered around Salvadelle, the presence of Adelle in this universe effects everyone. And I reuse to write some cliched-one-layered fiction and neglect all the wonders I can do for the rest of this colorful and amazing cast/characters. I like development. I like growling those personages that have so much potential. Adelle may be a master manipulator, may be the one holding all the answers, but I love where this story is going.**

 **So suck it up! Or leave, because I never promised that Ad will be in every chapter or that there would be only the trio in the front of the stage!**

 **You could see that I am keeping some of the things from the original series. But I am changing and adding a lot as well. Like….let me think *sarcasm* pahaha! The whole wolves thing- in the show they kill everyone in sight on full moon, but here there would be some changes. I'm thickening the plot and twisting it to my amusement. Muahah! Trust me, werewolves are still blood thirsty animals, but Bon-Bon and Jer-Jer are exceptions and you will slowly see how and why.**

 **GEHEE! Can't wait for that! I have been playing with this idea for a while, so expect some mixture of the folklore wolves and the ones from TVD! I promise the end result will be _juicy!_**

 **Wink! Wink! w! By the way I'm planning on making Bonnie such a bad ass that it will compensate all the shit she had to go trough in the show! Mark my words.**

 **Kitty Kat- this time around she already has the moon stone, now she needs Elena, but alas as we know Addie has tucked her away in a hidden place away from her evil copy! And Gosh! How much I enjoyed writing the scene where Kat meets again the Salvatores. Heheh! HAHHA! MUAHAH...ughuum...so yeah….she was expecting two yummy rare steaks but got one big green vegan juice in return! (Don't you love my comparisons? Psh...I'm genius! xd)**

 **Let's finish up with our cunning big mama Sheila! She got Kitty good, yeah? This evil smart Bennett witch is one hell of a good schemer, don't you love her? And I am such a sucker for surprises! That's why this chapter ends like that – dun dun duuun! Guess who enters the picture and who just returns from her secret-suicidal-but-brilliant little trip!? I would have written this scene as well, but then I decided to add it to the next update, so that I can upload chapter 21 next week.**

 **Yes! You heard right! I am already working on it, so there is no doubt that in the upcoming weekend you will see what happens next. I promise there would be some hilarious flashbacks of how our girl meets Elijah-the-hottie-in-a-suit, Kitty getting ROASTED and the anticipated Salvatores (which I'm starting to call Sals because come one! Their name is too long and I say it far too often...and duh I'm lazy!) getting some yummy piece of Addie and the true! So don't fret my Salvadellers – there will be smut-smut-smit-smut-smut and so much feels-feels-feels that yo gonna feel h-o-o-o-o-t!**

 **And final scoop- coz I like writing steamy scenes, in this update I laid the basis for another two possible (damn-certain) smutty couples. Yes, our trio will be a blast, but I am a die hard yaoi/gay stories fan and who would ever (and I freaking mean it – EVER) refuse werewolf sex?**

 **Ho-ho-ho!**

 **Christmas will come this summer! Wink-wink! (I think there is something in my eye...hmm xd)**

 **About my late update excuse – Life! End. Of. Story.**

 **Till next time, Salvadellers!**

 **Felly ^^**


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